Avatar: The Legend of Mika
by TheNotoriousNovelist
Summary: Mika has wondered what happened to her father, Haya-Ji, ever since he disappeared on a trip to the Fire Nation 8 years ago. After learning she's the Avatar after Korra, Mika is sent to the Fire Nation to learn firebending but she has another agenda... to discover what happened to her father. With her friends, Dao-ming and Fire Prince Jiro, will she finally find out? DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

**Set 80 years after The Legend of Korra. They have reached the modern day in technological advances.**

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><p><span>Name <span>Trivia:

_'Mika' is taken from the name 'Mikazuki' which means new moon._

_'Nao' is pronounced 'Now'._

_'Amissa' means friend._

_I tried to find names with 'Z's in them for the firebenders but I couldn't find many._

_'Jiro' means second son._

_'Kazuo' means first son._

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><p><strong>A<strong>**vatar: The Legend of Mika**

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><p>Earth. Fire. Air. Water...<p>

My ancestor, Fire Lord Zuko, helped Avatar Aang defeat his evil father, Fire Lord Ozai.

My ancestor, General Iroh, helped Avatar Korra defeat the evil of the Equalists.

Like all life, Avatar Korra had to inevitably leave this Earth.

And, like all life, it was inevitable that new life would be born into this Earth.

And so, the Avatar was born again...

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><p><span>Prologue:<span>

The Death of an Avatar/The Birth of an Avatar

Korra, an elderly woman, lay on her death bed. Mako squeezed her hand in his as tears fell. Korra closed her eyes and she let out a sigh...

_And Raava found the next Avatar..._

Nao, a woman on Kyoshi Island, looked at the baby girl she had just brought into the world. Haya-Ji, Nao's husband, sat next to her and looked at his second daughter. The couple's first daughter, Mei-Lien, was allowed into the room by the midwife and the 6-year-old ran over to her parents and new baby sister.

"Mei-Lien?" Nao said, gently "This is your baby sister... Mika,"

And Mika opened her eyes for the first time. For a moment, her eyes glowed Avatar State blue but no one noticed. In that moment her eyes turned to a vibrant green and she began to cry.

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><p><span>Chapter 1:<span>

The Journey Begins

Mika looked out the window of the satomobile as it trundled along the mountain road. It had been 1 month since she had found out she was the Avatar. And in that month, things had changed for her. Everyone on Kyoshi Island treated her differently, bowing to her and restoring the Avatar Kyoshi statue in her honor. The only people who treated her the same was her mother, her older sister and her younger sister. Mei-Lien made the comment that she was a Kyoshi Warrior and her sister was the reincarnation of Avatar Kyoshi but that was it.

Mika looked at the member of the Order of the White Lotus in the satomobile with her. His name was Aagney and he was a Fire Nation native, which was why he was in charge of Mika while she was in the Fire Nation. Aagney was reading a small scroll a messenger hawk had brought. His eyes darted to her before looking back at the scroll, taking out a pen and writing a response.

"Is something wrong?" Mika asked.

"No, no, Avatar Mika. It's fine. Just some boring White Lotus business, don't concern yourself with it," said Aagney "Your only concern is learning to be a Fully Realized Avatar,"

Mika looked back out the window.

Mika was a 12-year-old girl with dark brown knotted hair that stopped in the middle of her neck, vibrant green eyes and pale skin. Her father had been a Fire Nation native so she had a higher bridged nose than most Earth Kingdom girls but she had a button nose so it gave her a cute appearance. She had dirt smudges here and there from her constant earthbending and dirt stuck under her nails. Being from Kyoshi Island, Mika did wear some blue, a dark blue unbuttoned short-sleeved shirt. Being from the Earth Kingdom, she also wore green, a dark green t-shirt underneath the dark blue shirt. Mika also had grey jeans and a belt that had hooks to support her main weapon of choice, a kasuri-fundo, which was like a skipping rope only made out of a chain and metal handles. The thing the young Avatar was never seen without though was a red hair scarf she used to keep her hair out of her face. You could probably call Mika multicultural, even though she was not raised in the United Republic of Nations.

"Why can't I ride Amissa?" Mika asked.

"It isn't safe, Avatar Mika," said Aagney "The Order of the White Lotus were tasked by Avatar Korra to keep an eye on you,"

"From what I can tell, Korra wanted you to keep an eye on me so I wouldn't starve or sleep on a street during my journey of becoming the Avatar, not to babysit me and certainly not prevent me from riding my Animal Guide," said Mika.

Mika's Animal Guide was an eel hound called Amissa. The creature had a canine body with a reptilian head, feet and tail and its entire being was covered in dark green scales with light green scales on the underneath going from its jaw to the tip of its tail. The eel hound was also known for being the fastest animal over land and sea. Amissa wasn't fully grown yet so she was about half the size of the average eel hound.

For some reason the Order of the White Lotus had gotten it inside their heads it was dangerous for Mika to ride her Animal Guide. This made it even harder for the young Avatar to accept being the Avatar.

"Please?" Mika asked.

"No," said Aagney.

"Please? Please? Just for 10 minutes? I won't go far! Please?" Mika pleaded.

"Avatar Mika, begging is beneath you," said Aagney.

"Since when? I'm 12-years-old! Begging is what I do!" Mika said, folding her arms and leaning back in her seat with a huff "When do we get to the Fire Monestry?"

"In about 2 hours," said Aagney, sliding his navy robe sleeve up to see his watch.

"2 hours?! An eel hound could get me there in half that time! Maybe less!" the young Avatar exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.

Aagney didn't respond to this and just sat back. Mika looked at the handle of the satomobile and got an idea.

In an instant, Mika opened up the door and jumped out. Using earthbending, the young Avatar cushioned her landing.

"Avatar Mika!" Aagney exclaimed "Stop the satomobile!"

Mika got to the truck Amissa was sitting in and undid the restraints that kept her down. Amissa jumped out of the back of the truck and nuzzeled her master, tenderly.

"Avatar Mika!" Aagney exclaimed, getting out of the satomobile.

"C'mon, Amissa," said the young Avatar "We gotta go,"

Amissa bowed her head and Mika jumped on, her feet landing in the footholds and she pulled back on the rains to get Amissa to rise up.

"Avatar Mika, wait," Aagney said, standing below her.

"No can do, Aagney," said Mika "I can get to the Fire Monestry faster on Amissa,"

"Avatar Mika-" Aagney began but Mika was off "Avatar!"

Mika and Amissa sprinted along the road.

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><p>Meanwhile, at the Fire Monestry...<p>

...the Fire Sages prepared a room for the Avatar. A daughter of a nobleman, Dao-ming Liu, was helping to prepare the Avatar's room.

"What's the new Avatar's name?" Dao-ming asked.

"Avatar Mika," said a Fire Sage as she and Dao-ming prepared a bed.

"Where's she from?" Dao-ming asked.

"Kyoshi Island, the same as Avatar Kyoshi," said the Fire Sage "And don't bombard her with questions when she gets here, okay? Avatar Mika is coming to learn firebending,"

Dao-ming sniffed at this. The Fire Sage, Hania, smiled at her.

Dao-ming Liu was 11-years-old with red hair in a high ponytail tied with a black ribbon. She had pointy, amber, eyes and tanned skin. The young firebender wore a red dress that went to her knees with darker red trimming and dark red long sleeves. She had dark red trousers underneath and her feet were bare.

"Hania, how old is the Avatar?" Dao-ming asked.

Hania rolled her eyes.

"How long has Avatar Korra been dead?" Hania asked.

"12 years,"

"So that makes Avatar Mika 12-years-old," said the Fire Sage "Sanzo will be training her,"

Dao-ming tucked in the corner of the sheet and fluffed the red pillow.

"Hey, where's Jiro?" Dao-ming asked.

"He's training with Fire Sage Yat-sen in the gardens," said Hania.

* * *

><p>Jiro punched forward and released a fire blast. The fire blast hit a bullseye but Yat-sen was not satisfied.<p>

"Again," Yat-sen ordered.

"What?!" Jiro exclaimed "I've been doing fire punches all day! What could I possibly be doing wrong?!"

"Your fire is too emotional," said Yat-sen "Ever since the Hundred Year War firebenders have strived to get back to the original source of firebending,"

"And what the heck is that?" Jiro asked, kicking the ground.

"I don't know,"

Jiro groaned and held his head in his hands.

Jiro was the second son of the current Fire Lord. He had dark brown hair that he kept loose, only doing it up in a topknot for formal events. Jiro's eyes were the traditional gold and his skin was pale. He wore a red t-shirt, black waistcoat and black jeans. Unlike his ancestors, Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lord Ozai, Jiro's relationship with his father was strong and he actually appreciated his father for sending him to the Fire Monestry to master firebending, although Yat-sen could be irritating. Jiro was second in line for the throne out of his 7 siblings (he was the second oldest out of 8).

"The Avatar is coming today," said Yat-sen.

"Wait, what?" Jiro asked, turning around "The who-now-what-now?"

"The Avatar was discovered on Kyoshi Island, she'll be training here with Fire Sage Sanzo," said Yat-sen.

Jiro blinked at him.

"So... how many of my ancestors have met Avatars because I'm pretty sure we're about to break a record," said the Fire Prince.

Yat-sen looked at his young student. The Fire Sage was sat on a wooden patio and looking out at the gardens.

"Practice your fire punches," he said and Jiro punched fire straight up in frustration.

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><p>Mika, riding on the back of Amissa, had already gotten more than a 3rd to the Fire Monestry. Being alone on Amissa's back and in the open air allowed the young Avatar to think. When she realized her Avatar Journey would take her to the Fire Nation, Mika had remembered the last time she had seen her father...<p>

_The 4-year-old Mika had her arms around a eel puppy called Amissa. She and her family were on the docks._

_"Amissa's heavy, Daddy," Mika said, shifting her arms around the baby eel hound._

_"She's growing," said a man with dark brown hair and amber eyes "Soon you'll be able to ride her!"_

_The thought of riding Amissa brought a smile to her face._

_"Don't give her any ideas, Haya-Ji," said a pregnant Nao._

_Haya-Ji smiled at Nao and looked at Mika._

_"Mika, here," Haya-Ji took out a piece of red cloth "When Amissa is big enough to ride, use this to keep your hair back so it stays out of your face and so it doesn't get caught on twigs," the father said, tying the hair scarf around her hair._

_"Why does Mika get a present?" a 10-year-old Mei-Lien asked, stomping her foot._

_Haya-Ji laughed and put a red shawl around the oldest's shoulders._

_"Daddy? When will you come home?" Mika asked._

_Haya-Ji looked strained for a second but put on a look of bliss._

_"Soon," said Haya-Ji "I promise. I just have some things to tie up in the Fire Nation,"_

_Mika nodded._

_Haya-Ji got on the boat..._

_He left..._

_He never came back..._

The baby Haya-Ji never met was Mika currently 8-year-old little sister; Yi. Being in the Fire Nation finally gave her the chance to find out what happened to him. Everyone on Kyoshi Island kept telling her he was dead. What was really sad was that even Nao believed Haya-Ji was dead (maybe it was easier to believe that than think Haya-Ji didn't want her). Mika never believed that though. She always felt, deep down, that Haya-Ji was alive. After 8 years, Mika didn't care if Haya-Ji's reason for leaving was that he didn't love his family anymore, she just wanted to know what happened after he docked in the Fire Nation.

It took a week's journey to get to the Fire Nation from Kyoshi Island by boat and over that week Haya-Ji and his family on Kyoshi Island had sent letters to each other by messenger hawk. The letters stopped after a storm that led to everyone thinking him dead. Now the letters he sent and copies of letters her family had sent were in Mika's rucksack and were her only clue to Haya-Ji's location.

The young Avatar and her Animal Guide rounded a corner and there it was. The Fire Monestry. It looked similar to the Fire Temple Mika had seen when she first arrived in the Fire Nation and was surrounded by the mountain it resided on.

"There it is, Amissa," said Mika "The Fire Monestry, let's go!"

And the spiritually connected duo went on.

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><p>Dao-ming and Hania walked into the Great Hall. The Fire Monestry used to be home to hundreds of Fire Sages but many of them had gone to smaller Fire Temples. Now it was home to only Sanzo, Yat-sen and Hania; 2 brothers and a sister who were born in the Fire Monestry. Occasionally, people would come to the Fire Monestry to seek council or for help with firebending. When Avatar Korra reunited the Spirit World and the Physical World, the Fire Monestry was one of the first places that connected to them. This was why even the Fire Lord trusted the Fire Sages' judgement (enough to leave his second son in there hands).<p>

Dao-ming looked up at the huge mosaic of the Firebending Masters, Ran and Shaw, giving Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko the Secret of Firebending. The Secret of Firebending was known only by a chosen few who would go on to teach others to not fuel their fire with anger.

"I can't believe Jiro is actually related to that guy," said Dao-ming, looking up at the image of Fire Lord Zuko "Fire Lord Zuko was known for doing great things alongside Avatar Aang. Even as a banished Fire Prince he saved his country from itself at the end of the Hundred Year War. Jiro is just so... uh..."

"Jiro's young," said Hania "He won't become Fire Lord for a long time. His big brother, Fire Prince Kazuo, is in front of him,"

Dao-ming looked up at the mosaic again but her focus was broken by a loud argument outside of the doors. Dao-ming and Hania looked at each other and walked out to the doors.

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><p>When her Order of the White Lotus escorts finally caught up to her outside of the Fire Monestry... let's just say Aagney was not happy.<p>

"You can't just jump out of a satomobile like that!" he shouted at the young Avatar "Listen, Avatar, the Order of the White Lotus only has your best interests at heart! Everything we're doing is for your own good,"

"Well, I don't need or _want _your help! I'm thankful for the trip from Kyoshi Island and for finding me a firebending master but I don't need you to babysit me! If I'm the Avatar then I'm meant to be travelling the world to learn all 4 elements _on my own!" _stated Mika "How am I meant to learn about each Nation and its ways so I can be a part of each Nation, not just from the Earth Kingdom, if you don't even let me ride my Animal Guide?!"

They both glared at each other so harshly you could say lightning was sparking. They were interrupted by the front doors opening.

Dao-ming and Hania stepped out of the Fire Monestry to greet them. Aagney turned to face them and bowed to the Fire Sage.

"Fire Sage Hania," said the firebender "It is an honor to meet you," Aagney turned his head to look at the Avatar he was just arguing with "This is Avatar Mika,"

Mika stepped forward and bowed, the Earth Kingdom way with one hand over her fist.

"It is an honor to meet you, young Avatar," said the Fire Sage "My name is Hania and this is my student Dao-ming Liu of the noble Liu Family," and they both bowed.

"It's nice to meet you, Avatar Mika," said Dao-ming.

"It's nice to meet you too, Dao-ming," replied the young Avatar and Amissa walked up behind her and nudged her master's back "Oh, and this is Amissa. She's my Animal Guide,"

"We look forward to training you, Avatar," said Hania "My brother, Fire Sage Sanzo, will be your teacher. Come, let us introduce you to everyone else,"

And Hania led both Mika and Amissa inside the Fire Monestry with Dao-ming following behind.


	2. Chapter 2: The Three Students

Family Tree Trivia:

_Jiro and his 7 siblings are Zuko's great-great-great-grandchildren. Their father is the grandson of General Iroh (Zuko's grandson)._

_Dao-ming comes from a multicultural family in the United Republic of Nations. Her mother is a waterbender who moved to the North Pole with Dao-ming's maternal grandmother after Dao-ming's maternal grandfather, who was from the Earth Kingdom, died. After returning to the United Republic of Nations, Dao-ming's mother met a member of the Fire Nation noble family called the Liu Family, who later fathered both Dao-ming and her so-far unnamed older sister._

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><p><strong>Avatar: The Legend of Mika<strong>

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><p>Earth. Fire. Air. Water...<p>

My ancestor, Fire Lord Zuko, helped Avatar Aang defeat his evil father, Fire Lord Ozai.

My ancestor, General Iroh, helped Avatar Korra defeat the evil of the Equalists.

Like all life, Avatar Korra had to inevitably leave this Earth.

And, like all life, it was inevitable that new life would be born into this Earth.

And so, the Avatar was born again...

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 2:<span>

The Three Students

Mika looked up at the mosaic that contained her own past life. Thanks to the Order of the White Lotus, Mika knew that Avatar Korra had lost her connection to their past lives, meaning the only Avatar Mika would be able to contact would be Korra. In a side note, Mika decided to see about reconnecting to her other past lives.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Dao-ming said, looking up at it with her hands on her hips "So you're Avatar Aang's reincarnation? Ha! That means you used to be bold! And a boy! Haha!" Dao-ming mused.

"Dao-ming, please. The Avatar Cycle is one of the most important things to happen. Upon Mika's death she will be reborn into the Fire Nation," said Hania.

"I have one question about the Avatar Cycle," said Dao-ming.

"What?" Mika asked, gripping to her rucksack straps.

"Did your mom go into labor to have you because Avatar Korra was about to die or did Avatar Korra die because your mom was going into labor? Or did Avatar Korra die and Raava found a baby that was coincidentally born at the same time Korra died?" Dao-ming asked.

"I don't know," said Mika, rubbing the back of her neck "I've only known I'm the Avatar for a month,"

Mika had spent the previous month researching her past lives to see what they had done. Avatar Yangchin was known for being willing to do whatever it took to get the job done, even if it went against her own Air Nomad beliefs. Avatar Kuruk had lost his wife to Koh the Face-Stealer on the night of their wedding at the Spirit Oasis in the Northern Water Tribe. Avatar Kyoshi had created Kyoshi Island to escape invasion from Chin the Conqueror, created the Dai Li to protect cultural heritage in Ba Sing Se during the 48th Earth King's reign and she lived for a record 230 years. Avatar Roku had been best friends with Fire Lord Sozin in youth, failed to prevent the Hundred Year War and he had been the maternal great-grandfather of Fire Lord Zuko. Avatar Aang had been the only survivor of the Air Nomad Genocide (ironically he was the one that the Fire Nation had wanted dead), he was frozen in an ice berge for 100 years with his Animal Guide, he stopped the Hundred Year War at the physical age of 13, he became a Fully Realized Avatar in just over a year and he founded the United Republic of Nations with Fire Lord Zuko and Earth King Kuei. Avatar Korra discovered she was the Avatar at the age of 4 by unlocking her firebending and earthbending without help, stopped the Anti-bending Revolution, had the ability to give back bending, discovered the long forgotten first Avatar (a guy called Wan), defeated Vaatu by energybending and reunited the Spirit World and the Physical World. All in all... Mika had a lot to live up to.

Hania led her own student and the young Avatar through the Fire Monestry, heading to the gardens in the courtyard where fellow student, Fire Prince Jiro, and the other Fire Sages, Yat-sen and Sanzo, awaited. The Fire Monestry was similar to the Fire Nation Royal Palace in interior design but had murals that portrayed Fire Nation history instead of portraits of past Fire Lords.

Hania opened a slightly stiff sliding door and led the following youths onto a wooden balcony. Mika looked at the figures of 3 males, 2 adults and a child, and saw the shooting fire blasts. One of the men was standing to the side while the other was sparring with the child that was presumably Fire Prince Jiro. The Fire Prince seemed to be trying to be on the offensive but the Fire Sage he was sparring with was doing moves that forced him on the defensive.

"That's Fire Prince Jiro sparring with your teacher, Sanzo, and his teacher, Yat-sen, observing," said Hania "Fire Prince Jiro is here because he has been having trouble firebending without using anger. His parents want him to use the true meaning of fire but he's been having trouble, that's why he's here,"

"Oh," said the young Avatar "What about you, Dao-ming? Why are you here?"

"My older sister was a firebender but she allowed rage to fuel her fire and she couldn't control herself. Because of this she caused a fire that killed her. When I discovered I was a firebender my parents wanted me to learn from the original source of firebending so that the same wouldn't happen to me," said Dao-ming, hugging herself with a distant look in her eyes "But I'm not quite a master yet and emotions do play a part in my firebending,"

Hania put her hand on her student's shoulder and looked at the young Avatar with them.

"Come. Let's introduce you," said the Fire Sage.

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><p>Jiro jumped as Sanzo shot a fire blast at his feet. The Fire Prince created a dagger of fire and released the flame at the Fire Sage. Sanzo dissipated the flame and shot another blast at the Fire Prince.<p>

"Jiro," said Yat-sen.

Jiro stood still, panting as he looked at his firebending master.

"Yeah, Sifu Yat-sen?" he asked.

Sanzo took the Fire Prince by surprise and pushed him down in a simple motion.

"Pay attention to what you're doing," said Yat-sen, smirking slightly.

Jiro sat up and huffily blew some hair out of his eyes. The Fire Prince looked to his right and saw the approaching girls. He ran his fingers through his hair, leaned back on his hands and flipped to his feet. The girls reached them and the 3 Fire Sage siblings "hi"ed each other.

"Yat-sen, Sanzo, Fire Prince Jiro. This is Avatar Mika," said Hania.

The 3 firebending males bowed Fire Nation style, with one hand curled into a fist and the palm of the other hand resting against their fingers with their fingers pointing to the sky.

"It is an honor to meet you, Avatar Mika," said Sanzo, stepping up to her "I am Sanzo. I'll be the one to train you in firebending,"

"It's good to meet you, Sifu Sanzo," said Mika, bowing Earth Kingdom style.

"One quick piece of advice. Here, in the Fire Nation, we bow with our hands like this," and Sanzo repositioned her hands for her.

Mika smiled and bowed the Fire Nation way.

"This is mine and Sanzo's oldest brother, Yat-sen," said Hania, gesturing to Yat-sen.

Yat-sen bowed.

"It is an-"

"Please don't say 'honor'," said the young Avatar "Everyone says that when they meet me and it drives me crazy," and Mika smiled.

"Very well, Avatar Mika," said Yat-sen, bowing once again "This is my student, Fire Prince Jiro,"

Jiro bowed to her without speaking.

"'Jiro'? That means second son, right? Got an older brother called Kazuo?" Mika asked but saw the way Jiro was looking at her "Oh my spirits, you do,"

"My older brother, Kazuo, is first in line for the throne. After me it's my little brother, Renzo, and yes, 'Renzo' means third son. Then it's my sisters, the Fire Princesses; Maeko, Kaya, Nariko, Tami and Yumi," said Jiro "Tami and Yumi are twins and we've forgotten who was born first so they'll have to share the throne if they live long enough,"

"Well, your father's bloodline won't be ending soon," said Mika, laughing.

"We have some Fire Sagely things to do so Jiro and Dao-ming," Jiro and Dao-ming looked at Yat-sen, who was the one talking "Why don't you show Avatar Mika around?"

Jiro and Dao-ming bowed to their firebending masters and the Fire Sages left.

"C'mon, Avatar," said Jiro "We'll give you a tour of the Fire Monestry,"

"But, first, we'll take your eel hound to the stables," said Dao-ming.

"Eel hound?!" Jiro exclaimed.

"Every Avatar has an Animal Guide," said Mika "Mine's an eel hound called Amissa,"

"I thought eel hounds are meant to be, I dunno, untrainable and vicious?" Jiro asked, rubbing the back of his neck "I'm no expert on Earth Kingdom fauna but I think that's it,"

"No, you're right. It's very hard to train an eel hound but my mother, Nao, works with wild animals and she delivered Amissa along with another girl and 3 boys. Amissa's mother died so my village got to raise the litter. Eel hounds raised in a human environment from birth are easier to train because they're tamer than wild eel hounds," said Mika "We left Amissa in that hall,"

"You mean the Great Hall?" Jiro inquired and Mika nodded.

* * *

><p>Amissa was lying down in the Great Hall. She rested her head on her front legs as she waited for her master to return. Amissa had 4 siblings, her older sister, later named Yao Niang, was now the mount of the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, a descendent of Ty Lee called Emiko. The Animal Guide's 2 younger brothers were called Bing and Bo and given to the Kyoshi Island leader; Mayor Genki, and the town judge; Judge Jia Li (Bing to Genki and Bo to Jia Li). Amissa's older brother was named Si and given to the oldest person on Kyoshi Island, a village elder named Koko who was 138-years-old and was said to have known Avatar Aang, she was named after Avatar Kyoshi's daughter and needed Si to get around.<p>

Amissa sniffed the air with her canine senses and picked up the smell of burning from earlier firebending practices. With another sniff, Amissa got a moving smell of her master that was getting closer and the smell of 2 other people. Her enhanced hearing picked up the voice of her master talking to the other 2, from what it smelled like, kids.

The eel hound looked up at the 3 young ones as they walked in. Mika patted her knees and Amissa got up, walking over to her master. The eel hound bowed her head and nudged the young Avatar and Mika stroked her Animal Guide's head.

"This is Amissa," said Mika "Amissa, this is Jiro and Dao-ming,"

Amissa rose her head and sniffed the Fire Prince, engraving his smell into her mind so she would be able to identify him in the future. Her nose pushed him and he stumbled back.

"Uh? Mika?" Jiro said as Amissa pushed him again (he was a pongy 12-year-old).

Mika took hold of Amissa's rains and pulled her back.

"Sorry, Jiro. Amissa's just smelling you so she'll know you," said the young Avatar "That's enough Amissa," and Mika patted her Animal Guide's neck.

Amissa nudged Mika again and gained more strokes.

"C'mon!" said Dao-ming "Let's take Alister-"

"Amissa," Mika corrected.

"-Amissa's new home!" the 11-year-old said "C'mon!"

* * *

><p>Mika led Amissa through the halls as Jiro and Dao-ming led them to wherever the stables were. The entire Fire Monestry was on the side of a mountain so there couldn't be much room.<p>

The stables turned out to be a cave carved into the side of the mountain. It had wooden supports and was made up as a stable inside. There was a messenger hawk sitting on a perch and an ostrich-horse in one of the stalls.

"We prepared the biggest stall for your Animal Guide," said Dao-ming "I hope it'll be fine for Amy-sia,"

"Amissa," Mika corrected, again "And this stall will be okay, for now,"

"What do you mean 'for now'?" Jiro asked, standing in the doorway as Mika stood in the stall while Amissa curled up in the straw.

"Amissa may be 8-years-old but she's not fully grown. She will be within the next 4 years and eel hounds grow 3 times her current size," said the young Avatar, kneeling down beside her Animal Guide's head to give her a scratch "This stable will be too small by then,"

"Meh, we'll deal with that when it comes," said Jiro "Anyways, the animal food is kept over there," the Fire Prince pointed to a barn that stood against the back of the Fire Monestry "along with the rest of the animal supplies. The entire space behind the Fire Monestry is for the animals to run around in but they have to be in their stalls by 9 at night and you can open up the stalls for them at 9 in the morning,"

"Mucking out the stalls is a chore usually used as a punishment but, since Amissa is your personal animal, you'll probably get the job of mucking her out if no one's in need of punishment," said Dao-ming "Everything else like washing her and making sure she eats and exercises will be your responsibility because she's your's,"

"Okay," said Mika.

"You have to make sure taking care of your animal doesn't get in the way of your firebending training, but if it causes you to be a few minutes late it can be excused," said Jiro "And you'll be expected to do chores with the other animals,"

"Like collecting eggs from the pig-chickens and feeding the koala-sheep," said Dao-ming, sounding excited despite talking about chores "So you'll also learn responsibility here as well as firebending,"

"You call them pig-chickens in the Fire Nation?" Mika asked, to which the 2 firebenders nodded "We call them pickens in the Earth Kingdom,"

"Really?" said Dao-ming, sounding unneededly shocked "What do you call pig-roosters?"

"Pigsters," said the young Avatar.

It was silent for a few moments.

"Anyways," Jiro said in an obnoxiously loud voice to get the 2 girls' attention "Dao-ming will show you to the Girls' Dorms. I've gotta write my weekly letter to my parents," and the Fire Prince ran back inside.

Dao-ming looked excitedly at Mika and grabbed Mika's arm.

"C'mon! The Girls' Dorms are the entire South Tower!" she said, pulling the young Avatar out of the stable.

"I'll check on you later, Amissa," Mika called to her Animal Guide.

Amissa rose her head and looked at the ostrich-horse, who looked at her, before they both nestled down to get some rest.

* * *

><p>Dao-ming pulled Mika into the South Tower. There was a set of stairs that went through the ceiling of the room and presumably led to the rest of the Girls' Dorms. Dao-ming climbed the stairs then had to open a trap door so they could keep going. When Mika climbed to the second floor, she saw another staircase going to the floor above except it didn't need a trapdoor.<p>

"C'mon. The rooms are at the top," said Dao-ming "You'll get used to the climb after a while,"

Mika groaned and began longing for the one-floor house she and her family lived in on Kyoshi Island.

* * *

><p>Dao-ming happily jumped off the top step and onto the landing. Mika gripped the handrail, panting and stumbling. The young Avatar fell on her hands and knees.<p>

"C'mon," said Dao-ming and Mika forced herself to her feet "That door over there," Dao-ming pointed to the door at the end "It leads to the top floor and that's where Hania lives. I'll take you to your room,"

Dao-ming skipped over to a door and opened it up. Mika followed her in to see her room.

It was quaint with red furniture and red bed covers.

"What's with all the red?" the young Avatar asked "I know this is the Fire Nation but still,"

"We didn't have anything in green and, besides, you'll be dressed as Fire Nation while you're here," said Dao-ming.

"What do you mean?" Mika asked.

Dao-ming went over to the built-in closet next to the door and Mika walked further into the room to see inside the closet. Dao-ming pushed the folding doors to the side to show the clothes inside. A whole lot of red.

"Uh? Do I have to wear that all the time?" Mika asked.

"No. Only for firebending practice," said Dao-ming "You can wear them at other times if you want. Which you might if you don't have any other clothes," Mika nodded "Alrighty. What do you want to do?"

"I'm kinda tired. Kyoshi Island is in another time zone," said Mika "Just tell me where the bathroom is for future notice so I can take a nap,"

"The bathroom is through that door," said Dao-ming, pointing at the door at the bottom of the bed "I'll leave you alone,"

Mika watched the 11-year-old firebender walk out.

"Good night, uh, I mean have a nice nap," said Dao-ming, closing the door.

Mika didn't intend to sleep. During the trip from Kyoshi Island to the Fire Nation, Mika had gotten used to the shifting time zones. The young Avatar opened the red curtains to let in the light and looked out the window. Her bedroom's view showed the valley around the bottom of the mountain and, at the edge of the forest, she could see the village.

The young Avatar opened her rucksack and found her father's letters along with the corresponding letters. She sat on the floor, leaning against the bed, and looked over the letters. Haya-Ji said he was going to a town called Tiji. At some point, she had to go there and see if Haya-Ji got there! Mika wasn't above admitting her father was dead, if it turned out that's what happened but there was no proof (yet).

Mika took out a role of paper and wrote a letter to her family back home.

_Hi guys!_

_I got to the Fire Monestry in one piece. There are 2 other students here. One is a girl called Dao-ming, she's 11. The other is Fire Prince Jiro, he's second in line for the throne of the Fire Nation. I just wish the Girls' Dorms weren't up so many stairs! Here's some person specific things:_

_Mei-Lien, I hid your back-up Kyoshi Warrior fans in Amissa's bed._

_Yi, don't get a big ego because I'm the Avatar. The last thing I need is having to fight your battles when I come back for Kyoshi Day._

_Mom, I'm not gonna get into any trouble. Well, I'll try not to get into trouble._

_See you next Kyoshi Day,_

_Mika_

The young Avatar rolled up the letter and put it in a metal tube. Later, she was going to put it on a messenger hawk's harness and send it to Kyoshi Island. Mika got back up and looked out the window at the Fire Nation landscape. She was going to find her father, but first she had to start her firebending training.


	3. Chapter 3: Earth to Fire

**Avatar: The Legend of Mika**

* * *

><p>Earth. Fire. Air. Water...<p>

My ancestor, Fire Lord Zuko, helped Avatar Aang defeat his evil father, Fire Lord Ozai.

My ancestor, General Iroh, helped Avatar Korra defeat the evil of the Equalists.

Like all life, Avatar Korra had to inevitably leave this Earth.

And, like all life, it was inevitable that new life would be born into this Earth.

And so, the Avatar was born again...

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3:<span>

Earth to Fire

Mika was fast asleep in bed, her arms around her pillow with her blanket half off the bed. There was a furious knocking on the door and Mika's eyes barely opened.

"*Yawn* C'min," the tired Avatar groaned, sitting up.

Hania came in and threw open the curtains, the light half-blinding the young Avatar.

"Come on. You need to get dressed, have breakfast and feed Amissa before 8 o'clock because that's when Sanzo begins firebending training for his students," said the Fire Sage.

"8 o'clock? What time is it now?" Mika asked, rubbing her eyes.

"6 o'clock," said Hania.

"In the morning? Now that's evil," said the young Avatar.

"Uh huh," said the Fire Sage "Breakfast's in 10 minutes," and she left.

Mika collapsed backwards, groaning.

* * *

><p>Jiro and Dao-ming were sitting at the table in the kitchen. Hania was preparing soup for dinner later that night. Jiro and Dao-ming were eating breakfast, Fire Flake Breakfast Cirial in cow-pig milk. The 2 firebenders were in their training clothes, a red t-shirt with darker red jacket, red trousers and no shoes. The reason for no shoes was so the spiritual energy from the Earth could help with their firebending. Jiro had gotten all his training clothes dirty or burnt which was why he hadn't been wearing them the day before, but Hania had repaired and returned them.<p>

"What moves are you working on?" Jiro asked.

"I'm not working on any particular moves at the moment. Hania's trying to get me to generate fire without using anger," said Dao-ming "But it's hard because anger's the only way I know how to use to create fire. How about you?"

"Yat-sen keeps saying my fire's too emotional, what does that even mean?" Jiro asked.

"I dunno. I guess they don't want our firebending to be controlled by emotions," said Dao-ming "Hey, where's Mika?"

"Right here," said the young Avatar, walking down the stairs.

"Hey, Mika. What took you so long?" Dao-ming asked.

"Are you kidding? There are, like, 1000 steps!" Mika said, taking a seat at the table "So, how do you lot go about your morning routines?"

"We have breakfast, then we feed the animals and make sure the animals are good," said Jiro.

"Here, have some cirial," said Dao-ming, pushing a bowl of Fire Flake Breakfast Cirial to her.

"Thanks," said the young Avatar, her eyes drooping.

The young Avatar took a spoon and put a spoonful in her mouth. In an instant, her eyes were bugging and she was choking up her breakfast.

"Oh *pant*pant* my *gasp*pant* spirits! What *pant* was *pant*gasp* that?" Mika gasped, grabbing a glass of cow-pig milk and gulping it down with tears in her eyes.

"Fire Flake Breakfast Cirial," said Jiro, nonchalantly "The Fire Nation's favourite breakfast food,"

"My mouth is on _fire! _Wouldn't it be colder to eat, oh I don't know, lava rocks?!" Mika exclaimed, standing up and leaning on the table.

"Really? I don't find Fire Flakes all that hot," said Jiro, he turned his head to Dao-ming "Do you?"

"I think they're a little spicy but not that spicy," said Dao-ming "Oh! I know what happened! Jiro, you were raised eating spicy Fire Nation food and I only had Fire Nation food when I had dinner at my dad's parents who are natively Fire Nation. Mika, you're from the Earth Kingdom and you haven't had as much spicy food in your life so you're not used to it,"

"Well... that explains why my mouth is melting," said Mika, wiping her mouth with her sleeve "I'm just gonna have some of the rock candy my mom gave me as a going away present,"

Hania opened a cabinet and took out the bag of rock candy for the young Avatar. The previous night, Mika had eaten some rock candy and asked the Fire Sage to keep it in a place where it was dark so it 'wouldn't grow' (Hania preferred not to ask what that meant). The young Avatar took the bag gratefully and took out a handful of lavender and turquoise crystal shards. Mika stuffed them in her mouth and chewed happily. Jiro and Dao-ming stared at her and cringed at the grinding sound.

"Uh... how is it?" Jiro asked, awkwardly at the sight of a girl eating rocks.

"It's good! Want some?" the young Avatar offered.

"Uh... I know I'm gonna regret this but okay," said the Fire Prince, stretching out his hand.

Mika poured some of the stones in his hand and Jiro slowly brought the rock shards to his mouth and put them in his mouth. Jiro bit down once and spat them out.

"It's rocks! Actual rocks! Not just hard candy! Literal rock!" he exclaimed, spitting out the rocks "How can you eat that?"

"Maybe because she's an earthbender she can handle it?" Dao-ming suggested.

"Not really. A lot of people in the Earth Kingdom eat it. It's called Gemini, better known as Creeping Crystal. It grows super fast and only an earthbender can stop it. Anyone can eat it, I guess the people of the Earth Kingdom just have tougher teeth and/or digestive systems than the Fire Nation," said Mika, eating some more rock candy.

"Well this has been a very educational breakfast but there are animals that need taking care of," said Hania, taking a clipboard and looking over the chore schedule "Jiro has to feed the animals, Dao-ming will collect the eggs and Mika," the Fire Sage looked at the young Avatar "You take care of the animals in the stables,"

* * *

><p>When Mika walked into the stables, Amissa was kicking at her stall door with her tail between her legs. Mika knew what this meant and let the eel hound out so she could do her 'business'. The young Avatar opened the stall door and allowed the ostrich-horse out. What caught her attention was the newly arrived messenger hawk and this one had a saddle with a message on its back.<p>

"Hey!" Jiro said, appearing with a bag of ostrich-horse feed dragging behind "Abhi's back," Mika gave him a strange look "The Fire Monestry has 2 messenger hawks. This one with the white feathers mixed with his red wings? This one's Abhi. I sent him with a letter to my parents yesterday," Jiro took the metal tube off of Abhi's harness and saw the Fire Nation Royal Crest on it "Yep. It's from the Royal Palace," Jiro looked at Mika who had a look that said she was wondering something "Do you, uh, have a message you want to send?"

"Yeah," Mika took out her message tube "It's to my family on Kyoshi Island,"

"How far is Kyoshi Island?" Jiro asked.

"Far... very far. It's at the outskirts of Earth Kingdom waters, nearing the Air Nomad waters and close to the South Pole," said the young Avatar "Is that too far?"

"Nah. It'll just take longer, maybe a few days, for you to get a reply," said Jiro, smiling and taking Mika's message from her "Who're you sending this to?"

"My family, Nao, Mei-Lien and Yi," said Mika.

"Is there a specific building you want to send the message to?" Jiro asked, sliding the message tube into Abhi's harness.

"Well... I don't know my family's home address but my big sister, Mei-Lien, is a Kyoshi Warrior and works at the Kyoshi Warrior Dojo," said the young Avatar "Oh, and there's a giant sea serpent called the Unagi that lives in the cove,"

"Seriously? A sea serpent?" Jiro asked.

"Yeah. It's either centuries old or its a descendant of the other Unagis from Kyoshi Island history," said Mika, rubbing the back of her neck.

Jiro smiled at her and laughed. With Abhi on his lower arm, Jiro walked outside with Mika following behind.

"Abhi? Kyoshi Island, Southern Earth Kingdom waters, find Nao, Mei-Lien and Yi, the Kyoshi Warrior Dojo," he said and the messenger hawk flew up and glided away.

Jiro and Mika looked up as Abhi kawed and flew out of sight.

* * *

><p>Sanzo, Mika and Amissa were walking around the gardens with Mika guiding the eel hound by her rains.<p>

"So... how do you teach someone who's never bent anything but earth to bend fire?" the young Avatar asked, looking at her teacher.

"I'm not sure," said Sanzo, he looked down at the 12-year-old "You may be from the Earth Kingdom but you have certain Fire Nation features that tell me you have some Fire Nation heritage,"

"My father, Haya-Ji, is- was Fire Nation," said Mika.

"I believe by tapping into your Fire Nation heritage it will unlock your firebending," said Sanzo "So, what do you know of firebending?"

Mika looked down as she thought.

"Well... I know firebending can be generated by rage but, ever since the Hundred Year War, people have been trying to get back to the original source. But the original firebenders were dragons and they're exstinct so only a select few know, what is popularly referred to, the Secret of Firebending," said Mika.

"You've been talking to Jiro and Dao-ming, haven't you?" said Sanzo "Anyway, because the original firebenders are long gone, my siblings and I try to teach our students to use the energy of the Sun for their firebending,"

"I guess the Sun is the ultimate source of fire," said the young Avatar "So... where do we start?"

"Do earthbenders ever meditate?" Sanzo asked.

Mika looked at him with one eyebrow raised. Earthbenders were stubborn like the earth they bent. If they didn't want to move, you couldn't move them. They were some of the strongest people you could ever meet. They didn't generate their element, they were stubborn enough to move the ground itself. It wasn't about emotions or energy like firebending, earthbending was all about strength and, more accurately, a person's _inner _strength and determination. So, no. Earthbenders didn't meditate. At least, they didn't meditate for reasons concerning their bending.

* * *

><p>Meditation. If Mika knew just how opposite to earthbending it was, she probably would have left on the spot.<p>

The young Avatar was in a small, hexagon, room with an alter of candles that stood in front of her as the only light. Sanzo had left her to meditate and said he would return in 2 hours. Apparently, if Mika had accessed her firebending then the flames of the candles would rise and fall with her breath. Sanzo had told her to think of the Sun and its eternal energy, light and heat.

So, Mika sat in that room. Her legs were crossed and her fists were touching knuckles and the back of her hands facing outwards. She tried focusing on the flames with thoughts of the Sun but, the problem with being an earthbender was she was also impatient.

Instead of firebending, Mika closed her eyes and found herself thinking of the earth. The very essence of earth and she found herself feeling the earth. Mika lowered her hands and put her palms on the stone floor. She felt it. Mika, earthbending, curled her fingers like claws and pushed them to the floor, turning them, and shifting the stone floor beneath her. She had a clearer image now. The image reached out of the small room. It went down the hallway, through the entire Fire Monestry. On the other side of the Fire Monestry were light, and small, footsteps that were consistent with someone of Dao-ming's size and weight. Next to her were slightly heavier footsteps that were the size of Hania's. Out in the garden, there were footsteps jumping into the air and landing heavily yet gracefully, things consistent with Jiro's performing certain firebending moves. Mika 'heard' footsteps moving towards the room and she felt the door as it was slid along the floor to open.

"Mika?" Sanzo said, quietly "Mika?" the young Avatar opened her eyes "Mika? What are you doing to the floor?"

Mika looked at her hand and saw it was semi-screwed into the floor with the stone floor earthbent around her fingers.

"Uh. Oh, sorry," said the young Avatar and she pulled her fingers out.

The floor was still pretty messed up and Mika looked sheepish as she brushed her hand over it, using earthbending to smooth it out.

"Did you access your firebending?" Sanzo asked.

"Uh... I was but then I got distracted and, uh, well. There is good news and bad news," said Mika "Good news is that meditation gave me a clear enough mind to do a form of earthbending sub-bending called seismic sense. I could sense where things are by earthbending. Bad news is that I forgot I was meant to be focusing on firebending,"

Sanzo sighed.

"Well, you're an even better earthbender now which is good. But, you're firebending isn't going to be unlocked by earthbending," said the Fire Sage "Come. Let's try something else,"

* * *

><p>Sanzo and Mika stood in the gardens, facing each other.<p>

"Maybe the feel of the Sun will help you," said Sanzo "Do you think you could earthbend a pillar?"

Mika took a horse stance and rose her arms as if she was lifting something. As she rose her arms, a podium of earth rose beneath them.

"That's high enough," Sanzo said, quickly.

Mika stopped and stood up straight.

"Now what?" the young Avatar asked.

"Sit on the grass and meditate while facing the Sun," said Sanzo "Take deep breaths and feel the Sun on your face. Take the focus you put towards using seismic sense and use it to feel the energy inside of you. The energy will heat your entire being. When you feel this and go from feeling it to not feeling it and vice versa, then you know you have made progress,"

Mika nodded and dropped to the ground, putting herself in the meditation position. Sanzo turned to walk away and realized he was stuck.

"Um, Avatar?" the Fire Sage said "Could you-" without saying anything, Mika punched her arm out and a staircase formed from the side of the pillar "Thank you,"

Mika watched her firebending teacher walk away before turning to face the Sun with her eyes closed. The wind started to blow as if to souly cool her down.

* * *

><p>2 hours later...<p>

...the only heat Mika was feeling was Sun stroke. The over heating was getting to her and the young Avatar couldn't take it. Mika's nose twitched and she snapped her eyes open.

"Ga!" she exclaimed in desperation, forming an earth tent over her.

Mika panted from the heat exposure and curled up, crossing her arms over her knees. The young Avatar had already taken off her jacket but she was still panting.

"What's with the Fire Nation and heat? I mean, I know the Fire Nation is all about fire but, still," she said.

"Knock, knock," said a voice and Mika turned around to see Jiro crouching down at the entrance of the earth tent.

"Hey, Jiro," the young Avatar said, looking at the Fire Prince.

Jiro crawled in and sat next to her.

"Flamin' earth tent," said the Fire Prince "Why'd you make it?"

"I was boiling hot! What's wrong with this Nation and its obsession with heat?!" Mika exclaimed.

"Uh, all powerful Avatar girl, you are aware you're in the Fire Nation, right?" Jiro asked, looking at her skeptically.

"I guess I'm used to Kyoshi Island's climate, I didn't realize how hot the rest of the world would be in comparison. Kyoshi Island traditionally has snow most of the year," said the young Avatar, then it struck her just how homesick she was and she looked sad.

"Hey, no getting gloomy," said Jiro "As Prince of the Fire Nation, I order you to be happy," and he smiled at her.

Mika smiled at him.

"What time is it?" she asked.

Jiro moved his jacket sleeve to see his watch.

"11:23," said the Fire Prince "We should probably go. Hania hates it when people don't help her make lunch,"

Mika smiled and by simply pushing her hands down to the ground and the pillar sank back into the ground. The young Avatar then put her hands together then shot them downwards and the earth tent shot back into the ground.

"Earthbending's very, uh, very sudden," said Jiro "Does that make sense?"

"Haha! Don't worry, I get what you mean," said Mika, smiling.

* * *

><p>"Lunch is served," said Hania, serving the 3 students.<p>

Lunch was rice cakes with some kind of sauce. Jiro and Dao-ming were happy to take the rice cakes and began eating. Mika looked at them, trying to figure out if it was spicy or not.

"Hey! These rice cakes are tasteless!" Jiro complained.

"No, they're not," said Dao-ming "They're just milder than you're used to," Dao-ming looked at her teacher who was attending the soup for dinner "Taking into consideration Mika's milder tastes?" and Hania just smiled rather than respond.

Mika took a rice cake and cautiously took a bite. It was a little spicy, but not to the point where she would spit it out. In fact, the rice cakes were just right for her Earth Kingdom tastebuds.

"Hania? Can I have some extra sauce on mine?" Jiro asked "Please?"

"You should try proper Earth Kingdom food," said the young Avatar "Think about it. If you become Fire Lord after your brother, won't whoever's Earth King or Earth Queen be insulted you won't eat their Nation's food?" Jiro slightly glared at her but she smiled "Besides, I don't think eating that much spicy food is good for you. I'm pretty sure spicy food gives you heart burn and you're 12, too young to have heart burn,"

"Good point, Mika," said Hania "Prince Jiro, you really need to get used to cuisines from all 4 Nations,"

Jiro groaned, but forgot about his food problems as soon as he took another bite of his rice cake that Hania had added more sauce to while they were talking.

Mika, Dao-ming and Hania all laughed at how food manipulated Jiro's mood so easily.


	4. Chapter 4: An Avatar's Path

**Avatar: The Legend of Mika**

* * *

><p>Earth. Fire. Air. Water...<p>

My ancestor, Fire Lord Zuko, helped Avatar Aang defeat his evil father, Fire Lord Ozai.

My ancestor, General Iroh, helped Avatar Korra defeat the evil of the Equalists.

Like all life, Avatar Korra had to inevitably leave this Earth.

And, like all life, it was inevitable that new life would be born into this Earth.

And so, the Avatar was born again...

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 4:<span>

An Avatar's Path

It had been a month since Mika had arrived at the Fire Monestry. In that time she had truly become a part of the family. Though she was yet to summon any fire herself, she was able to bend pre-existing fire. Jiro had become accustomed to having to try food from around the world and Dao-ming had become best friends with the young Avatar. But one thing still nagged at Mika. She was yet to find her father...

Mika went through the firebending routine again, taking it step by step. Mika felt the energy inside of her and was about to release it when the thought of her father came to mind. The energy died and Mika stopped. Since arriving at the Fire Monestry, she hadn't even tried to find her father despite promising herself she would. And now it was affecting her training. The young Avatar sighed and went back inside.

Mika was walking through the Great Hall when Dao-ming came running over.

"Mika! Get changed! We're going to the village today!" she said.

"Huh?" Mika asked "What do you mean?"

"The village at the bottom of the mountain," said Dao-ming "We go there once a month for supplies and stuff,"

"So, why do I need to get changed?"

"Because you look like a firebending student and we try not to draw attention to ourselves when we're out," said Dao-ming "So, come on!" and the 11-year-old firebender pulled her by her arm.

"Is Jiro going?" Mika asked, allowing herself to be pulled along.

"Yeah, why?"

"If we don't want to draw attention to ourselves, wouldn't hanging around with the Fire Prince do just that?" the young Avatar asked.

"Jiro wears a hood and shades while we're out," said Dao-ming "Now, hurry up!"

* * *

><p>Mika rode Amissa into the town. The Fire Sages, Jiro and Dao-ming had walked into the town. Jiro had a hooded jacket to hide his identity, along with a pair of dark lensed glasses. Mika jumped off Amissa's saddle but kept a hold of her rains to guide her.<p>

"So, is there anything you would like to do?" Hania asked, putting her hand on the young Avatar's shoulder.

"Uh... is there a, uh, a place I could find things out about the Fire Nation? Like a library or something?" Mika asked.

"The town's library's over there," said Hania, pointing to a building at the end of the road.

"Thank you," said Mika.

"We'll all meet again at the town entrance in 3 hours," said Dao-ming "Then we'll-"

"Hey! Dao-ming!" a scruffy boy shouted from across the street "You wanna play hide-and-explode with me, Apsara and Leeloo?"

"Okay!" Dao-ming shouted back "I'll meet you at the edge of the forest!"

"Okay!" the scruffy boy shouted, doing a thumbs-up before running off.

Dao-ming turned to Mika and Hania.

"That's my friend," Dao-ming said "His name is Xu," (Xu, pronounced shoe) "I'll see you later," and Dao-ming ran off.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Hania asked the young Avatar beside her.

"No, thank you," Mika said, acting more manarable than she was "I'll see you in 3 hours at the town entrance,"

"I'll be at the farmer's market if you need me," said Hania.

Mika nodded and walked towards the library when she realized.

"Oh! Hania?" Mika turned back and offered the Fire Sage Amissa's rains "Can you take Amissa?" the young Avatar asked.

Hania nodded, a sweet smile on her face and took the rains.

"No one will try to cheat me out of my money with Amissa," said Hania, smiling.

* * *

><p>Mika took a seat in front of one of the library computers. The computer was an old, box, type from the days before social media sites.<p>

"How old's this computer? It's, like, from Avatar Aang's time," said the young Avatar, typing in the log-in the librarian had given her.

Mika went online and searched for a Fire Nation town called Tiji. She found a small town called Tiji that dealt with international trading. There were a few villages and locations called Tiji but the trading town was also seafront so it was more likely.

Mika leaned back in her chair with her arms folded. She had a lead... now what? The ship her father had been on was called the Dragon's Breath (coincidentally that was also the name of a firebending move). If she went to Tiji and found members of the Dragon's Breath's crew from 8 years ago, maybe one of them knew where Haya-Ji went? But that would require leaving the Fire Monestry and travelling across the Fire Nation and who could say how long that would take! Amissa was an eel hound and they were known for being the fastest animal on land and sea, but still.

Unknown to the young Avatar, Dao-ming had finished her game of hide-and-explode and had gone looking for her. The 11-year-old firebender was hidden behind a bookshelf and saw Mika print out a map to Tiji.

* * *

><p>Later that night...<p>

...Mika swung her rucksack over one shoulder and left a scroll that explained everything on the kitchen table before she headed out to the stables. The young Avatar snapped the lighter Sanzo had given her (considering she couldn't create fire) and lit the lantern hanging from the doorway. The ostrich-horse was fast asleep and the messenger hawks were in their respective nests. Mika opened the stall door and knelt down next to Amissa's head. The young Avatar began scratching her Animal Guide's head in hopes of waking her up without frightening her.

"Amissa?" she said in a loud whisper "Wake-up, girl. We've got to go. We're going to find out what happened to my dad,"

Amissa rose her head, sensing her master's sorrow at the mention of Haya-Ji, and gently nudged Mika in a tenderly way.

"So _that's _why you're running away," came a voice from behind.

Mika turned her head and saw Jiro and Dao-ming standing in the doorway, both with a bag with them.

"Hey guys, going on a trip?" the young Avatar asked, laughing nervously.

"Mika. We know you're looking for something, we want to help. We want to come with you," said Jiro "But we need to know why,"

"Fine," said Mika, looking away "As you know, my mother's name is Nao and my sisters are called Mei-Lien and Yi but what you don't know is who my father is. His name was Haya-Ji and he was a Fire Nation citizen until he moved to Kyoshi Island. When I was 4-years-old, and my mother was pregnant with Yi, my father went on a trip to the Fire Nation so he could tie up some loose ends. We sent letters to each other by messenger hawk for a week but, just after he docked, he stopped writing. I haven't seen or heard from him since," the young Avatar said, looking melancholy at her eel hound "And that was 8 _years _ago,"

"So you're looking for your dad that may or may not be alive and may or may not even want to be with your family if he is?" Dao-ming asked and Mika nodded "Sounds like an adventure! Let's go!"

"You guys really want to come? What about training?" Mika asked.

"We'll practice on the road," said Jiro "Mika, we know you're the Avatar and this is your journey but the previous 2 Avatars have had their friends there,"

"Yeah! Team Avatar!" Dao-ming exclaimed.

"We've tried everything here, Mika, but maybe what we need isn't here. Our own journeys are taking us away," said Jiro "Sorry, Mika, but you're stuck with us,"

Mika looked at them before smiling.

"It'll be good to have some company other than Amissa, she's not much of a conventionalist," said the young Avatar "A'right. You're in. We're going to a town called Tiji on the other side of the Fire Nation,"

* * *

><p>The next morning...<p>

...Hania went into Dao-ming's room to find it empty. The Fire Sage went into Mika's room to find it empty. Maybe they were both up and messing around.

When Hania was walking through the Great Hall, Yat-sen ran up to her with a desperate look on his face.

"Yat-sen?" Hania asked.

"Hania! Have you seen Jiro? He's gone!" Yat-sen exclaimed.

"What? Dao-ming and Mika are gone too," said the sister "Oh no! You don't think-?"

Hania ran back to the Girls' Dorms and looked in Mika and Dao-ming's trunk at the bottom of their beds. Empty. Same as their closets. Sanzo looked inside the stable and found Amissa missing. The 3 Fire Sages rendezvoused in the kitchen. Hania looked in some cupboards to find some food that didn't need any specific treatment to keep was missing.

"Why would they leave?" Hania asked "Nothing was wrong, right?"

"Look," said Sanzo, picking a scroll up "It's from Mika. She says the unanswered question of what happened to her father has been affecting her training. She needs to find out and hopes to come back to the Fire Monestry after she's found what she's looking for,"

"What about Dao-ming and Jiro?" Hania asked.

"It says right here; 'P.S Jiro and Dao-ming are coming with me. They say their own journeys are taking them with me. Hopefully we'll all find what we're looking for'," said Sanzo, pointing to the scribbled down extra sentences.

"What do we do?" Yat-sen asked.

The 3 Fire Sages looked down before looking at each other.

"They're on a journey that they think will help them," said Hania "Whatever it'll take for Jiro and Dao-ming to firebend without anger, they're on this journey to find it,"

"And Mika is looking for an answer to something that's been bothering her for most of her life," said Sanzo "If she finds closure then hopefully it will bring her enough peace to enable her to create fire,"

"So... what do we tell their families?" asked Yat-sen.

"We'll just say their children are on a journey that will help them firebend without anger or hate," said Hania.

* * *

><p>Mika was at the front, holding the rains for guiding Amissa. Behind the young Avatar was Dao-ming, who had her hands on Mika's shoulders. Behind Dao-ming was Jiro, who's hands were on her shoulders, and he was experiencing the uncomfortable bumping of Amissa's end as the eel hound ran along the road.<p>

"How. Long. 'Til. We. Get. To. The. Closest. Town?" Jiro called, his voice shaky as they went along.

"We want to get as much distance as we can," called Mika "We'll take a break in the next town and keep going!"

Jiro groaned and began wishing they had taken the ostrich-horse too.

* * *

><p>It took 2 hours but the new Team Avatar came to a small town. The 3 benders got off of the eel hound and stretched.<p>

"A'right. Find some supplies, use the bathroom, get something to eat and we'll figure out the best way to get to Tiji," said Mika, adjusting Amissa's saddle "How much money do we have?"

"We don't have a lot of money but we'll be able to buy some meals for a while," said Dao-ming, looking into the saddle bag that had the money "We'll have to make every purchase count, though,"

* * *

><p>Half an our later, in a local restaurant...<p>

...Team Avatar were sitting round a table, eating some buns they had agreed to buy, while they plotted their rout to Tiji on a map they agreed would be their final purchase of the day.


	5. Chapter 5: Nature

Hong Trivia:

_Hong is 12-years-old._

_Hong was 5-years-old when the wolf-bats took him in._

_The name 'Hong' means wild, which is why Jiro named him that._

_Hong's family were camping in the forest and his parents forgot to hide their food. The food attracted a vicious, unidentified, animal that attacked and killed Hong's parents._

_Hong has underdeveloped social skills because of his wild upbringing and lack of human contact._

_Hong steals from camps for things he can't make like new clothing and metal items._

_Hong's family came from Republic City and went to the Fire Nation for vacation._

* * *

><p><strong>Avatar: The Legend of Mika<strong>

* * *

><p>Earth. Fire. Air. Water...<p>

My ancestor, Fire Lord Zuko, helped Avatar Aang defeat his evil father, Fire Lord Ozai.

My ancestor, General Iroh, helped Avatar Korra defeat the evil of the Equalists.

Like all life, Avatar Korra had to inevitably leave this Earth.

And, like all life, it was inevitable that new life would be born into this Earth.

And so, the Avatar was born again...

* * *

><p><span>Prologue:<span>

Nightmare(s)

_ Everything was black-and-white. Mika ran through an alleyway. A figure was standing at the end of the alleyway, somewhat calling to her. Mika shouted out to the figure but she couldn't hear her own voice._

_In a flash, Mika saw a battle. Most of the fighters were showing some form of bending and looked to be in their early 20s. There was a man with a pointed hairstyle and a red scarf who was firebending. Another man who looked a little younger with a button nose and green clothes who was earthbending. Then there was a woman with make-up who was shocking the shadowed attackers with a gauntlet. Then there was a woman in Southern Water Tribe attire who was shooting fire out of her fists. Then she bent some earth from the ground to knock an attacker away. 2 different kinds of bending?_

_The entire thing was engulfed in darkness..._

...and Mika sat up screaming. Jiro and Dao-ming got out of their tents to see what was going on. Amissa rose her head and turned to her young master who had fallen asleep leaning against her.

"What the heck is going on?!" Jiro complained.

"Sorry, guys, just- just a nightmare," said Mika, sheepishly grabbing the blanket she had with her.

Jiro and Dao-ming looked at each other before looking back at her.

"Well, alright," said Dao-ming "Wake us if you need us,"

Mika curled back up, leaning against Amissa with her blanket back over her. Jiro and Dao-ming backed up into their tents. Mika closed her eyes with the memories of her nightmare gone... for now.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 5:<span>

Nature

The newly formed Team Avatar were walking along a forest path with Mika guiding Amissa by her rains. To their right was a steep hill and to their left was a cliff with a river at the bottom of it.

"Why can't we ride Amissa?" Dao-ming asked.

"Because my saddle can comfortably seat 1 person and 2 people could sit in it but there's 3 of us. Plus, Jiro wouldn't stop complaining," said Mika "Besides, walking is good for you,"

Dao-ming groaned and readjusted the strap of her duffle bag over her shoulder. The 3 firebenders were quiet as they went along.

"When can we start riding Amissa again?" Dao-ming asked "Because I am _ really _bored,"

"You won't be any less bored on Amissa so why do you want to ride her?" Jiro asked.

"Because I'm tired!" Dao-ming defended herself.

"Then why didn't you-"

"Shut-up!" Mika suddenly shouted.

The young Avatar crouched down and put her hand to the ground. The vibrations of... something... were rumbling through the ground and that something was heading towards them. Mika could tell the 'something' itself had earth in it... No... it _was _earth.

"Mudslide!" Mika suddenly shouted and jumped onto Amissa's back "Get on!"

The ground began to rumble and the mudslide appeared over the ridge along with the sound of the mud coming towards them. Dao-ming and Jiro jumped on behind Mika and the young Avatar yanked the rains.

Amissa darted forward but, before the eel hound could get to speed, the mudslide hit them and Team Avatar was pushed off the cliff. The trio fell off of Amissa with Mika still holding onto the Animal Guide's rains. They screamed and hit the river below.

The river was mixing with the mudslide so it was hard to see what was where. Mika kept her grip on Amissa's rains as she wildly looked for her friends. A shift in current forced the young Avatar to the surface and she gasped looking around desperately for her friends. Dao-ming's red hair bobbed out of the water and the 11-year-old firebender gasped and desperately began to doggy-paddle.

"Help!" she gasped, her voice gurgling from the river water in her mouth "Can't swim!"

"Dao-ming!" Mika exclaimed, diving for Dao-ming when she was pulled back under.

The young Avatar got hold of Dao-ming's wrist but she didn't try to swim since the redheaded firebender had passed out. In desperation, Mika grabbed onto Dao-ming's wrist with both hands but then realized she had let go of Amissa's rains. The young Avatar reached for her Animal Guide's rains only to find herself losing consciousness. Just before Mika blacked out, Jiro appeared and grabbed the rains with one hand and the young Avatar's arm with the other.

Everything was still. All of Team Avatar were floating in the river but it somehow seemed like time had stopped. Mika saw Jiro's eyes closed and his fingers slip from around her arm. The young Avatar let go of Dao-ming with one hand and grabbed the Fire Prince's hand. Mika's eyes closed and she felt her numb hands let go of her friends when, suddenly, she opened her eyes. But now, her eyes were glowing...

_Mika found herself atop a mountain with fog below. The young Avatar looked at her arms and found she was dry._

_"Hello, Mika," said a voice._

_Mika turned around and saw a dark-skinned woman in combat Southern Water Tribe clothes and wearing a betrothal necklace that was like yin-and-yang except was red-and-blue. The woman smiled._

_"At least I was reincarnated as a girl," said the Water Tribe woman._

_"Huh?" Mika asked "Who are you?"_

_"I'm Korra, your predecessor as the Avatar," said Avatar Korra "It's good to meet you, Mika,"_

Mika crawled out of the river, having waterbended the rest of Team Avatar out. The panting Avatar collapsed onto her back and her glowing eyes dimmed back to normal. Mika's eyes closed and her head lolled as she passed out.

* * *

><p>When the young Avatar awoke, she was in a cave and her vision was blurry. Mika shifted onto her front and looked forward, then her vision came back. A creature hissed at her and she jumped back. The young Avatar was on her hands and knees and the creature, a wolf-bat, walked away from her. There was a fire going and, now that she was looking, there were several wolf-bats and her friends were passed out around the fire.<p>

"You okay?" said a voice.

Mika looked up and saw a boy around her age sitting across from her.

The boy had scruffy brown hair that looked cut with a knife, evenly tanned skin, blue eyes and an animal scratch on his cheek. He had an oversized brown short-sleeved t-shirt with a large rip at the side of the abdomen to show another fresh scratch along with some old scars. He had dark brown trousers that were scratched up. He had a headband with a few feathers hanging at the side around his forehead and matching bands around his lower arms. He had no shoes on and his feet were filthy. Actually, he was filthy all over and he didn't smell too good either. The boy had a dark green sash made of multiple woven leather straps. The sash had a dagger attached to it that looked homemade.

"Wh-Who are you?" Mika asked, crawling backwards slightly.

"Me? Who you?" the boy asked "Why you in river during mudslide?"

"Me and my friends were walking along a path when the mudslide appeared. We didn't have time to get away so we got pushed into the river," said the young Avatar "Did you save us?"

"Me? No. You with glowy eyes. You use water magic to command river to let friends out," said the boy "Who you?"

"Water magic?" Mika wondered for a moment "My name is Mika. What's your's?"

"Me no got name," said the boy, turning away from her.

A wolf-bat hissed and the boy hissed back, clawing at the wolf-bat.

"Do you... do you live with the wolf-bats?" Mika asked.

"Family," the boy said, gesturing to the multiple wolf-bats around them "Raise me since me little,"

Mika looked at the wild boy in confusion. A boy raised by wolf-bats? She thought that sort of thing was invented for movers.

At this moment, Jiro decided to come to. He looked at the wild boy and created a fire dagger.

"Who the heck are you?" the Fire Prince demanded.

The wild boy took his dagger from his sash and hissed a very accurate wolf-bat hiss at Jiro.

"Jiro! Stop!" Mika said, getting onto her knees with her hand to stop him.

"Mika! What's going on? Who's this guy?" Jiro demanded.

"Jiro, this boy was raised by the wolf-bats," said the young Avatar.

"Me see people and animal fall in river. Me find people and animal on riverside. Me bring her to warm up and dry off," said the wild boy.

"What's your name?" Jiro asked.

"Me no have name. Me no remember," said the boy.

"Right," said Jiro, he scratched the back of his head "I wonder how long we've been out,"

"10 hours," said the boy.

"And how do you know that?" Jiro asked.

"Sun set and moon rise," said the wild boy "That thing tell me," and he pointed to a sundial made of a stick in the ground with little dashes carved into the ground.

"How did you get is all up here?" Mika asked.

"Me carry up," said the wild boy "Mika's creature help,"

"My creature? You mean Amissa? Where is she?!" Mika exclaimed.

"Creature back there with rest of family. Amissa very cold," said the boy, pointing into the back of the cave.

Mika took a handful of fire and got up. The young Avatar walked into the back of the cave and found Amissa laying on her side with several wolf-bats perched around her. Mika felt a part of herself die at the sight of her weakened Animal Guide.

"Amissa!" she cried and collapsed beside Amissa's head and put her hand on her forehead "Ga! You're freezing cold!" and the eel hound whimpered.

Jiro got up and walked up to them. The Fire Prince got down on his knees and put his hand on Amissa's bareback.

"Being in that river did a number on her," said Jiro "You know the most about eel hounds, how is she?"

"She's sick and shouldn't be moved," said the young Avatar "What are we gonna do?"

"You stay here while Amissa heal, it okay," said the wild boy "Last friend still not up, anyways,"

Mika and Jiro looked at each other.

"We don't have a choice and we'll be able to survive in a forest better with someone who lives here," said Mika.

"We'll stay until Amissa's better because if Dao-ming isn't awake by then we can put her on Amissa's back and take her to the closest town," said Jiro, he looked at Dao-ming "I'll just check on her,"

Jiro walked over to the youngest of the group. Dao-ming was curled up on her side, the fire lighting up her features. Jiro put the back of his fingers on her forehead to check her temperature.

The Fire Prince saw Amissa's saddle. He reached over, opened one of the saddle bag and took out a blanket. Jiro put the blanket over Dao-ming and she subconsciously snuggled down in it.

"She fine. She woke-up first. She fall asleep waiting for Mika and Jiro to wake-up," said the boy.

"You know, we really should give you a name. Just something to call you," said Jiro, he looked the wild boy up and down "How about Hong?"

"Me, Hong?" the boy said "Me like that,"

"You mean I. I like that, no me like that," said Jiro "You need to work on your grammar, Hong,"

"Okay. Me- I will," said Hong, smiling.

"Hmm..." came a murmur from Dao-ming and she sat up, rubbing her eye "Oh. Hi Jiro, Mika. When did you wake-up?"

* * *

><p>The next morning...<p>

...was peaceful with a gentle breeze. The newly named Hong stood outside of his cave, looking out over the forest. Hong's cave was the very top of a cone shaped mountain. Mika came out of the cave and walked up beside him.

"Amissa's still sick. She needs food, water and warmth," said the young Avatar "Can you help me get that?"

Hong nodded. He pointed at a random part of the forest.

"I have traps for food there," then he pointed to the edge of the river "I was getting water when I found you. We go get food and water, Jiro or Dao-ming stay here and keep fire going for Amissa," Hong said.

Hong walked over to a rock and took out a bow and a quiver filled with arrows from behind it. He took his leather sash off and wove some stray strands of cotton to attach the quiver to the sash. Hong put the quiver on his back with the bow in his hand.

"Come, get Jiro or Dao-ming," said the wild boy "We go now,"

* * *

><p>Dao-ming, Mika and Hong walked down the mountain and climbed down the boulders to the ground. Hong took an arrow out of his quiver and pulled it back in his bow. Dao-ming and Mika followed the wild boy as he walked through the trees.<p>

When they got to the river, Dao-ming got a bucket of water. Hong pointed his notched arrow and aimed at the river. He moved the arrow head up and down before releasing it. Dao-ming and Mika looked as Hong walked into the river. The end of his arrow was sticking out of the water. Hong grabbed it and lifted it out of the water. There was a fish on the arrow and it was still wiggling. Hong walked onto the bank and pulled the arrow out of the fish. He pulled his knife out and stabbed the fish in the head before dragging it through the fish and cut its throat. Hong went over to a tree and took a woven basket from among tree roots and he put the dead fish in it.

Hong caught several other fishes and he seemed to enjoy using his bow and arrows. Then a fancy satomobile drove up at the other side of the river.

"Who are they?" Dao-ming asked, looking across the river with her hand shielding her eyes.

Hong crouched over with his bow, an arrow ready to fire and he growled. Some people in suits got out of the satomobile and began talking, one with a phone. One of them revealed a clipboard to pass to a colleague and Hong released his arrow. Mika and Dao-ming looked surprised that he would aim at humans and the girls wondered if Hong was insane. Then the arrow shot through the clipboard and pinned it to a tree. The suited men looked at them and began shouting.

"Hey, Wolf-bat Boy! We're going to buy this land and kick you off this land!" one man shouted.

"You can have this land when I'm dead!" Hong shouted back "And my name is Hong now!"

Hong, Dao-ming and Mika started walking away. Dao-ming carried the water, Mika had the basket of fish over her shoulder and Hong led the way with an arrow ready.

* * *

><p>"Who were they?" Mika asked as the trio walked up the mountain.<p>

"Don't know. They come and kill trees. Me've- I've- I've been scaring them away. Me no want to lose home," said Hong, stopping and lowering his bow and arrow to his side.

Mika put her hand on Hong's shoulder.

"You won't," she said "Hong have you ever heard of the Avatar?"

"Person with all 4 elements powers?" Hong asked "Yes I heard of them,"

"Well that's me. I'm Avatar Mika and it's my job to protect nature," said Mika, gesturing to herself with her thumb "Those people strike me as developers. Do you know where they are now?"

Hong nodded.

* * *

><p>Later that night...<p>

...Hong, Mika, Dao-ming and Jiro were staking out the construction site. The suits from before were talking in a trailer. There was heavy construction machinery everywhere and there were workers talking around a campfire.

"How come we haven't broken ground yet?" one worker asked.

"Because of the Wolf-bat Boy," said another "We can't break ground until he's removed,"

"I heard he's got friends now and that his name is Hong," said a third worker.

"I'm new here so I have no idea what you're all talking about?" said a forth worker "Who's Hong the Wolf-bat Boy?"

"A'right, here's the story," said the second worker "The night after we cleared this area of the forest, the Boss found a little kid surrounded by wolf-bats in the clearing. He was crying over the destroyed trees. He said he loved going to that area because it had a tree they grew the nicest fruit and he asked the Boss what happened to the trees. The Boss told him it was progress and that he had the trees cut down and that they were going to destroy the forest to build a resort. The boy was outraged and actually growled then said he wouldn't let his home be destroyed. Since then the Wolf-bat Boy has been messing with construction. They say he was raised by the wolf-bats and that he understands them as if they were actually talking,"

"Others say he's the spirit of a boy who died trying to protect the forest from barbarians who sought to destroy it for a secret gold deposit," said the first worker.

"And some think he's the actual spirit of the forest, its living embodiment of its life," said the third worker "And that a little bit of him dies with each tree chopped down,"

"Hong is not an animal whisperer, ghost or spirit," said the Boss "He's just a wild boy raised by wolf-bats who doesn't get that he's already lost. We just need to find where the wolf-bats live and kill every last one of them and that will break Hong past breaking point!"

At the mention of this plan, Hong jumped forward. He fired an arrow at the Boss and growled like a wolf-bat. The Boss pulled out a katana sword and broke Hong's bow. Hong stabbed at the Boss with the bow pieces. The Boss grabbed Hong's shoulders and kneed the wild boy in the gut. Hong wrapped his arms around his chest and collapsed to the ground.

The workers had formed a circle around their boss and the wild boy.

As soon as Hong hit the ground, he rolled onto his feet crouching and he grabbed his dagger from his quiver strap. He jabbed forward and tried to take down the Boss. The Boss used his katana again and cut the wild boy's cheek before hitting him with the butt of the handle. Hong almost fell again but the Boss grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind the Wolf-bat Boy's back. Hong cried out as his wrist broke and let out a wolf-bat whimper. The Boss pushed the wild boy down and Hong held his wrist, whimpering as his wrist turned to a dark grey bruise. The Boss pointed the tip of his katana at the wild boy.

"Where's the rest of the wolf-bat pack?" he asked.

Hong looked at him and growled, glaring at the Boss before spitting out some blood he had choked up, leaving a line of blood coming down the side of his mouth and just glared at the man.

"I will never give up my family," said Hong and he let out a howl.

A few seconds later, that howl was answered by even more howls. These howls were that of actual wolf-bats. The winged canines came flying down and landed around their human family member. Everyone jumped back as the wolf-bats crowded around Hong. The mother of the group saw Hong's broken wrist and began licking it.

The Boss rose his katana sword up but before he could lower it on the wolf-bat pack, the earth rumbled and was pulled out from under the Boss's feet. The Boss fell on his side and let go of his katana. He reached for his sword, a burst of fire was shot at the sword to heat the metal so when the Boss grabbed it it burned his hand. The Boss cried out in pain and looked in the direction the fire had come from.

There stood Mika, levitating a chunk of earth over one hand and sustaining a flame over the other.

"Bending 2 elements?" the Boss said "That's not possible unless..."

"That's right! I'm the Avatar! And this forest is under my protection as well as Hong's!" announced the young Avatar "Now leave!"

"Not going to happen, Avatar! I bought this land and I can do whatever I want with it!" the Boss said.

"Not any more," said a voice and everyone turned to Jiro and Dao-ming.

* * *

><p>A few minutes before...<p>

...Jiro and Dao-ming snuck away after Hong jumped out to attack the Boss and Mika went to back him up. Jiro and Dao-ming watched the guards run from the trailer. The 2 firebenders went over to the trailer and climbed into the trailer by a window.

Dao-ming created flames around her fists in case of discovery as Jiro got on the computer and got to work using his Fire Prince pull.

* * *

><p>"This land now belongs to the Fire Nation Royal Family," said the Fire Prince "My name is Prince Jiro of the Fire Nation and, if you check your bank account, you'll see that 4 million yuans have been transferred to your account to pay for this land. And, I am also making this a protected area where Hong and his family can live in peace. The public may pass through but they cannot kill an animal. The only person who can kill an animal on this land is Hong because he lives here and is considered wolf-bat,"<p>

The Boss got on the phone to his own boss and it was confirmed.

"Very well, your majesty," the Boss groaned as he bowed to the Fire Prince.

"You better be off this land by morning or you're all breaking the law," said Jiro "And don't you ever even think of bothering this forest, Hong or Hong's wolf-bat family ever again," _I love being the Fire Prince, _Jiro thought.

* * *

><p>Mika sat by Amissa, who was getting stronger by the day, as the young Avatar leaned on her Animal Guide to go to sleep. Dao-ming curled up in a blanket and went to sleep by the fire. Jiro was about to go to sleep when Hong spoke.<p>

"Lin-Lin and Cheng,"

"What?" Jiro asked.

"My human mother was named Lin-Lin and my human father was called Cheng. We were on a camping trip when I was about 4 or 5. For some reason, an animal attacked and killed my parents. I've been here ever since," said Hong, curling up on a blanket made up of different animal pelts "We were from Republic City... I don't remember the name they gave me. I tried so hard to remember them that I've forgotten who I was... that was until you 3 came,"

"What was your name, Hong?" Jiro asked.

"Wang... it means hope," said Hong "As well as wish and desire,"


	6. Chapter 6: Spirits

**Avatar: The Legend of Mika**

* * *

><p>Earth. Fire. Air. Water...<p>

My ancestor, Fire Lord Zuko, helped Avatar Aang defeat his evil father, Fire Lord Ozai.

My ancestor, General Iroh, helped Avatar Korra defeat the evil of the Equalists.

Like all life, Avatar Korra had to inevitably leave this Earth.

And, like all life, it was inevitable that new life would be born into this Earth.

And so, the Avatar was born again...

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 6:<span>

Spirits

Team Avatar bed a farewell to their first non-founding member. Hong had led them to the edge of the forest.

"Closest town that way," the Wolf-bat Boy said, pointing forward with his bow "Be careful,"

"We will, Hong," said Jiro "It was good to meet you,"

"You too, friends," said Hong "Goodbye Jiro. Goodbye Mika,"

"Goodbye Hong," said Mika "Protect your home,"

"I will. Goodbye Dao-ming," said Hong, then he took his dagger and held it out to her "Take this. It for protection,"

Dao-ming took his dagger and hugged him, crying over leaving her friend. Hong was startled by this and his dirty cheeks seemed to turn red under the dirt. Dao-ming pulled away and messed with the bandage around Hong's broken wrist. His wrist had different herbs around his wrist with cloth tied around it and sticks being used as splints.

"Are you sure your wrist is okay?" Dao-ming asked "You really should go to a hospital,"

"It fine, Dao-ming!" said Hong "This 6th time my wrist been broken. Never had it bandaged this well before,"

"Remember to change the herbs before you go to sleep and when you wake-up. Oh! And go easy on it for a while. In fact," Dao-ming grabbed a scarf out of Amissa's saddle bag and tied it around Hong like a sling "Here. Now you have to take it easy,"

Hong looked at the sling and sighed.

"Looks like I won't be using my bow for a while," he said, sulking "Please don't tell people where cave is?"

"We won't," said Mika.

Mika, Jiro and Dao-ming mounted Amissa and waved to Hong calling out "goodbye!" for a few steps before Mika cracked the rains and Amissa sped along the mountain path.

* * *

><p>2 hours later...<p>

...Team Avatar were in a canyon with cliffs surrounding them. The ride was a lot easier because Hong had made changes to the saddle to fit the 3 of them easier. Amissa had been slowing down for the past half hour and, now, she finally stopped. The eel hound lowered her head, panting like a canine (one of her few canine features). Mika jumped off and went to Amissa's head, giving her a pat. The young Avatar got down on her knee and had a look at her Animal Guide.

"Everyone off," she said to her friends "Amissa's tired, let's find a place to rest for a bit,"

Jiro and Dao-ming jumped off and Mika began leading Amissa along. They walked past a cliff and into an open space. Mika stopped and put her hand to her head. The young Avatar groaned and bent on.

"Mika?! Are you okay?" Dao-ming asked.

"I feel a- a presence... There's something here," said Mika "_Someone's _here. I- I can't explain it. I feel like I know who it is,"

"Hey look! An oasis! Let's go rest there," said Jiro "Come on,"

They all looked to the left and saw an oasis a few hundred feet away. Team Avatar turned around and got walking.

* * *

><p>When they got to the oasis it looked more tranquil and beautiful than afar. It was a little island in the middle of a lake with a smaller pool in the middle of it and one half had trees with a bridge going over the lake for people to cross to the island.<p>

"Wow, this place is beautiful. Let's go," said Jiro, walking forward.

"Jiro, don't! The Aye-Aye Spirit doesn't-" then Mika stopped, confused "Wait? What am I saying? I don't even know what the Aye-Aye Spirit is,"

Then a koala-like humanoid appeared on the bridge, one hand on his hip and one hand in front of Jiro.

"Halt. Who goes there?" the creature asked.

"My name is Jiro, Prince of the Fire Nation. Who are you?" Jiro asked.

"Me? I am the Aye-Aye Spirit and this is my oasis. Now, go away," said the Aye-Aye Spirit, gesturing for Jiro to leave before turning around to walk back to his oasis.

"Go away? Why?" Jiro asked.

The Aye-Aye Spirit sighed and turned back around to them.

"_Because _I don't like humans," said the Spirit "Now, leave. Before I pick you up and throw you out,"

Jiro walked back to his friends, glaring at the Aye-Aye Spirit.

"Wow, what a jerk," said the Fire Prince "Now what are we going to do? Amissa needs to rest and Mika's got a migraine,"

"I think I know," said Mika, stepping away from where she was leaning against Amissa and led her Animal Guide onto the bridge.

The Aye-Aye Spirit appeared and held both hands out.

"No hu-" the Aye-Aye Spirit sniffed "-mans? You look human and you smell human yet you have the aura of a Spirit. Who are you?"

"My name is Avatar Mika and the Spirit you sense is my Avatar Spirit, the Light Spirit; Raava. I know you don't hate _all _humans," said the young Avatar.

"And how do you know that?" the Aye-Aye Spirit asked.

"Because you were friends with Avatar Wan. You and the Nice Spirits helped him master firebending," said Mika.

"You know my good friend Stinky?" the Aye-Aye Spirit asked, pointing at her with joy on his face, then he screwed his eyes shut and put his hands up as if pushing her away "No! Stinky couldn't have possibly lived this long!"

"Yes and no," said the current Avatar "Aye-Aye Spirit, it is true Avatar Wan is dead but his Spirit and life force have lived over 100 lives. Avatar Wan was the first Avatar, I am the 103rd. Your friend, Stinky, has lived 103 lives in the past ten-thousand, one-hundred and thirty years, give or take a decade or two," and she shrugged, smiling, at her last comment.

"_You're _Stinky's reincarnation?" the Aye-Aye Spirit asked and looked her up and down "What do you and your friends want?"

"Aye-Aye Spirit, me and my friends are on a journey. My Animal Guide, Amissa, is tired. Please let us rest in your oasis," Mika asked.

"Very well. But only because you're the reincarnation of my friend. I'll do it for Stinky," said the Aye-Aye Spirit, stepping aside and bowing with his arms gesturing the way "You may enter New Stinky,"

Mika smiled.

"Thank you, Aye-Aye Spirit," she said, bowing Fire Nation style then she straightened up and waved to her friends "C'mon!" she called to them.

Jiro and Dao-ming looked at each other before running up to the young Avatar and following her to the oasis.

* * *

><p>Upon reaching the island and stepping off the bridge, the world around them changed. There were several Spirits around them, some sitting in the pool and others talking with each other. All the Spirits stopped what they were doing and looked at the 3 humans and eel hound. The Aye-Aye Spirit appeared in ribbons of blue light and he turned to address the other Spirits.<p>

"Everyone! This is Stinky's reincarnation called Avatar Mika, but I call her New Stinky," said the Aye-Aye Spirit "This is her Animal Guide, Amissa, and her friends,"

The Spirits looked away and got back to what they were doing. Mika led Amissa to the pool and her exhausted eel hound drank from the pool, the water gulping down her throat. Amissa got down and rolled onto her side. Mika got on his knees, unstrapped Amissa's saddle and took it off.

"You rest up, girl," said Mika, scratching her Animal Guide's neck.

The Aye-Aye Spirit appeared next to her and peered over the reincarnation of his friend's shoulder. Mika stood up and the Aye-Aye Spirit continued to watch her as the young Avatar walked over to the saddle and got some seal-jerky imported from the South Pole that she took from the Fire Monestry. Mika bit off half of the seal-jerky and gave the other half to Amissa, as she swallowed her own piece. The young Avatar kept taking a bite of the seal-jerky and giving the rest to her Animal Guide. The Aye-Aye Spirit just stood next to her, peering down at her and looking away whenever she looked at him.

"You are a good friend to Amissa," said the Aye-Aye Spirit "Are you a friend of the Spirits?"

"Well, I haven't met any Spirits, up until now, but I want to be," said the young Avatar "What's on your mind, Aye-Aye Spirit?"

"I returned to the Physical World 55 years ago and I brought my Spirit Oasis with me," said the Aye-Aye Spirit "But, for the past few nights, an angered Spirit has been attacking the Spirit Oasis... I was wondering if the Avatar might be able to help,"

"I've never had to deal with a Spirit conflict before," said Mika "I guess I could try but I may not be able to do anything,"

"Don't worry, New Stinky, all I ask is that you try," said the Aye-Aye Spirit.

"A'right. I'll try," the young Avatar agreed.

* * *

><p>"You, what?" Jiro exclaimed after Mika told the rest of Team Avatar what she agreed to.<p>

"I said I was going to help them. It's my job as the Avatar to help both humans and Spirits. I have to try," said the young Avatar.

"Do you even know how to deal with Spirits?" Dao-ming asked.

"Uh. No. No, I don't," said Mika "Listen, I'll try to help and then we'll leave,"

"Got a lot plan?" asked Jiro.

"I dunno. I've always got my kasuri-fundo, just in case," said Mika, taking hold of her weapon's handles.

"Alright," said Dao-ming "But only for tonight. Remember, we're on this journey to find _your _father and Tiji's hundreds of miles away so we have to get going tomorrow,"

Mika nodded, agreeing with these conditions.

* * *

><p>Mika stood on the bridge over the lake and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. Mika looked straight forward, determined not to miss a single movement in case it was the angered Spirit. The young Avatar screwed one hand into the bridge in order to feel the vibrations of the angered Spirit.<p>

The other Spirits, Amissa and the rest of Team Avatar were in the Spirit Oasis, fast asleep with Amissa curled around Jiro and Dao-ming as they leaned against the eel hound.

Mika's eyes began to close and her head began to droop. The young Avatar stood up and turned around.

"I guess the angered Spirit isn't so angry tonight," she said, stretching as she headed towards the sanctuary of the Spirit Oasis.

As Mika was about to step into the Spirit Oasis, she felt a breath down her neck. The young Avatar cautiously turned around to see what was on behind her.

At the end of the bridge was a Dark Spirit that looked like thousands of black worms come together to be one creature. It was on all 8 legs like a spider but then it stood on its hind legs so it looked like it had 6 arms. Its head had 2 red voids that were presumably its eyes.

"Dark Spirit?" Mika said, looking at the Dark Spirit "I'm the Avatar and, uh, as the Avatar I ask you to please leave these Spirits in peace,"

The Dark Spirit rose one of its arms and brought it down in the middle of the bridge, causing a crack right down the middle. Mika squealed as the Dark Spirit brought its arm back up. The young Avatar stomped the stone bridge, the crack earthbended shut and a pillar of rock shot up and jabbed the Dark Spirit in the gut. The Dark Spirit wrapped some arms around the pillar and yanked it from the ground.

"Oh no," Mika said and the Dark Spirit threw the pillar at her.

The young Avatar jumped into the lake surrounding the Spirit Oasis and the rock pillar crashed into the ground. Mika dived down and got her feet on the bottom of the lake. The young Avatar managed to barely earthbend another pillar beneath her that lifted her from the water.

The Dark Spirit had destroyed the bridge and seemed to be doubling in size. Whatever barrier that prevented you from seeing the Spirits unless you were in the Spirit Oasis was gone because Mika could see the Spirits cowering away with Jiro and Dao-ming creating fire to protect them.

"Dark Spirit! Why are you attacking these Spirits?! What have they done to you?!" the 12-year-old Avatar called.

The Dark Spirit was stretched over the lake and was randomly hitting the Spirit Oasis with its half a dozen arms.

"Stop this!" Mika shouted "I said-" the young Avatar took out her lighter and firebended at the Dark Spirit "-Stop!"

The Dark Spirit turned around after Mika's firebending had burnt part of it away. Mika stepped back, panting. No one dared move.

"Oh, Avatar Korra. Help me, now," she said as she retreated to the edge of her earth pillar.

The Dark Spirit rose its arm and revealed its 3 pronged hand. Its 3 fingers curled around the young Avatar and picked her up.

"Help!" Mika shouted, kicking and punching "Help!"

"Let her go!" shouted Jiro and he and Dao-ming released 2 constant streams of fire at the Dark Spirit.

The Dark Spirit swatted the 2 firebenders away with 2 of its left arms and turned around, the Avatar in its hand as it went down to its 5 free hands.

"Let me go!" Mika shouted "Didn't you hear me you stupid Dark Spirit! Let me go!"

Then everything started to glow around them. The young Avatar continued to struggled. Amissa came running up along side her.

"Amissa!" Mika exclaimed and she reached out to her Animal Guide.

On Amissa's back was Jiro, who Mika had shown how to ride an eel hound. He let go of the rains and pointed 2 fingers. The Fire Prince pointed out his fingers and started to generate lightning. Jiro shot lightning at the Dark Spirit. The Dark Spirit stumbled forward, releasing Mika.

"Mika!" Jiro exclaimed.

The Dark Spirit disappeared and Mika leaned up on her hands. The young Avatar looked up and saw Jiro running towards her. But then he stopped.

"Jiro?" Mika said "Jiro!"

Jiro got down on his knees next to a body. He put his arms around the body and sat it up. Mika squealed when she saw who it was. Herself. Jiro picked Mika's body up bridal style and started walking away from her. Jiro put Mika's body on Amissa and they left.

Mika stared as Jiro and Amissa took her body away.

"What the? How?" Mika questioned, the Sun began rising behind her and she looked at her hand; it was blue "What the heck? Why am I... I'm in the Spirit World!" Mika exclaimed, realizing what had happened.

Mika stood up and started walking towards the Spirit Oasis. While she walked she tried to figure out how she got to the Spirit World. If it was another world then how was she in it? Just because she wasn't in her body? Spirit World logic was confusing.

As Mika was about to walk onto the Spirit Oasis bridge that was somehow repaired, a polar bear dog jumped in her way. On the polar bear dog's back was Avatar Korra.

"Easy, Naga," she said, patting the polar bear dog's head "Mika,"

"A-Avatar K-Korra?" Mika stuttered.

"Mika, come with me," said the previous Avatar "You want to stop that enraged Spirit?" Mika nodded "Then get on," and Avatar Korra reached down her hand.

Mika cautiously took her past life's hand and she was pulled onto the polar bear dog's back.

"Where are we going?" Mika asked.

"The Spirit World," said Korra "Naga, let's go,"

* * *

><p>Naga ran across the world with the current and previous Avatars on her back. They got to the North Pole in a matter of seconds and ran through the Northern Spirit Portal.<p>

Naga kept running and came to a sudden stop at the bottom of a mountain.

"The Dark Spirit you're looking for is here," said Korra "You need to go deal with it. And, remember, things aren't as scary in the light,"

Mika got off of Naga and stepped up to the mountain path.

"Uh, Avatar Korra? What the heck does-" Mika asked but when she turned round, Korra and Naga were gone.

Mika looked at the dark mountain and took one step onto the path. The young Avatar wished Amissa was there to take her up the mountain. Mika started running up the path.

"So. Where's that Dark Spirit?" Mika wondered aloud as she ran.

In a hole the Dark Spirit dwelled but opened its absent eyes as the young Avatar went running past. The Dark Spirit reached out of its hole and pulled itself out. The Dark Spirit started walking on all 8 of its legs and began running after Mika.

Mika heard the rumble of the Dark Spirit as it ran up behind her. The young Avatar turned around and was pushed down by one of the Dark Spirit's hands. The thousands of worm things that made up the Dark Spirit's being wiggled around her as the Dark Spirit pushed her to the ground. The young Avatar looked into the Dark Spirit's voids that were its eyes.

Mika breathed heavily as the Dark Spirit began to crush her ribs.

"If I die in the Spirit World, do I die in real life too?" she asked.

Then Avatar Korra's words came back to her. _Things aren't as scary in the light..._

"You're not a Dark Spirit," Mika gasped "You're just upset. You only look scary because it's dark..." Mika closed her eyes and remembered something that was Korra's memory "I have light inside,"

The darkness that circled around the mountain and the sky cleared with the Sun shining. The worms that made up the Dark Spirit wiggled away to reveal the Light Spirit they had encased.

* * *

><p>Jiro, Dao-ming, the Aye-Aye Spirit and the Nice Spirits were watching over Mika's body. The Aye-Aye Spirit had placed her in the pool and it healed the scrapes she got when the Dark Spirit had dropped her and she was thrown.<p>

"Why won't she wake-up?" Dao-ming asked "It's very worrying,"

"She's in the Spirit World," said the Aye-Aye Spirit "She'll come back when her business there is done,"

Mika opened her eyes and her eyes glowed. When the glow dimmed, Mika sat up in the water.

"Mika!" her friends exclaimed.

Amissa nudged her young master and Mika patted her Animal Guide's head.

"Mika, are you okay?" Jiro asked her.

Mika jumped up and ran from the pool. In the distance was the Dark Spirit.

"There it is!" cried Dao-ming "Someone do something!"

"No!" Mika exclaimed "It's not a Dark Spirit! It just looks scary,"

"What do you mean?" Jiro asked.

"Years ago, the Aye-Aye Spirit turned down a Spirit who wanted to enter his Spirit Oasis. Since then that Spirit has been feeling terrible over the rejection and it turned dark," explained the young Avatar.

"Why did the Aye-Aye Spirit not let them in?" Dao-ming asked, looking critically at the Aye-Aye Spirit.

"Because it looks human," said Mika "The Aye-Aye Spirit called _her _ugly. She used to be human, though,"

"Oh... the Spirit of the Valley," said the Aye-Aye Spirit "The Dark Spirit that's been terrorizing us is the Spirit of the Valley?"

"Yes! Look! There she is!" the young Avatar said, pointing as the Spirit of the Valley walked up to them.

The Spirit of the Valley was a little girl that looked to be 7-years-old. Her skin was pale, her black hair was in several thick braids, her eyes were red and she wore a red sleeveless dress with a black shawl around her shoulders, black tights and red slippers.

"Hello, Avatar Mika," said the Spirit of the Valley "You are sure I am welcome?"

Mika turned to glare at the Aye-Aye Spirit.

"Yes, you are," she said, then she turned and saw the Spirit of the Valley "HeyYou're an adorable little girl,"

The Spirit of the Valley blushed, smiling.

"Thank you, Avatar," she said.

The young Avatar took the Spirit's hand and led her over the bridge.

* * *

><p>When Team Avatar were waving to the Spirits of the Spirit Oasis as they rode away on Amissa. The Spirit of the Valley and the Aye-Aye Spirit had become close friends and they both waved with glee.<p>

Team Avatar looked away from behind them and looked forward. Then Jiro remembered.

"Hey, Mika? What did you mean the Spirit of the Valley used to be human?" the Fire Prince asked.

"The Spirit of the Valley used to be a human girl who got lost in this valley. She wasn't found in time and she starved," said the young Avatar "It happened, like, 700 years ago,"

Jiro and Dao-ming looked at each other.

"That's... really disturbing," said Dao-ming.

"Yup. The Spirit of the Valley know guides all who are lost in her valley back to civilization," said the young Avatar.


	7. Chapter 7: Vigilante(s)

Name Trivia:

_The name Shena was made out of the__ name Shen, a gender nuatrel name meaning ghost._

_Jīn means gold._

_The name Ana was taken from the name Anastasia, a Greek name meaning resurrection._

_Jain is an Indian surname._

* * *

><p><strong>Avatar: The Legend of Mika<strong>

* * *

><p>Earth. Fire. Air. Water...<p>

My ancestor, Fire Lord Zuko, helped Avatar Aang defeat his evil father, Fire Lord Ozai.

My ancestor, General Iroh, helped Avatar Korra defeat the evil of the Equalists.

Like all life, Avatar Korra had to inevitably leave this Earth.

And, like all life, it was inevitable that new life would be born into this Earth.

And so, the Avatar was born again...

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 7:<span>

Vigilante(s)

Team Avatar were against the wall as the Fire Phoenix gangsters walked up to them, flames in their hands.

"You shouldn't have meddled in our business," said one of the Fire Phoenix gangsters.

Jiro started to form lightning on the tips of his fingers. Dao-ming formed blue flames around her fists. Mika snapped on her lighter and drew the flame into her hands and put her lighter away.

When the Fire Phoenix gangsters were about to throw their fire, a flaming throwing star came down and put a stop to things. Everyone looked up and saw... the Red Huntress!

* * *

><p>Earlier that day...<p>

...Team Avatar entered Fire Fountain City, a city named such because of the giant statue of a Fire Lord that shot fire out of its fists and mouth that stood in a fountain. As Team Avatar rode on Amissa, people turned their heads to look at the foreign animal.

"Maybe we should get off and walk it?" Jiro suggested.

"Good idea. I feel like we're getting weird looks," agreed Mika.

The young Avatar pulled on the rains to bring Amissa to a stop. The 3 firebenders jumped off the eel hound and Mika began leading Amissa along by the rains. There was a man standing in the middle of the plaza, holding fliers and shouting...

"Wanted, the Red Huntress! Wanted, the Red Huntress! Wanted, the Red Huntress!"

"Who's the Red Huntress?" Dao-ming asked Mika and Mika shrugged.

Jiro walked up to the man and crossed his arms behind his head.

"'Scuse me? Who's the Red Huntress?" the undercover Fire Prince asked.

"That's," the man pushed a flier to Jiro and the 12-year-old boy lowered his arms and took it "what the police want to know. You're an outta-towner?"

"Yeah?" Jiro agreed and looked at the flier.

Mika and Dao-ming walked up behind their friend and looked over his shoulders.

"The Red Huntress is a vigilante," said the flier distributor "She's wanted for , assault, breaking and entering and more,"

The flier had a picture of a girl in a red riding hood cape, a black mask tied around her head, a black short-sleeved catsuit, red arm bands and a red belt with pouches on it. In the Red Huntress's hand was a bo staff and in her other hand were throwing stars.

"There's a reward for her capture, 500 yuans," said Jiro.

"Why? Got any information on her?" the flier distributor asked, looking at Jiro intensely "Hey? Wait a minute... You look familiar. Mind taking off your hood and shades?"

"Uh. Yes, I do mind. Um, let's go girls," Jiro said, hastily turning around and hurriedly walking away.

* * *

><p>Team Avatar looked around the city, looking for a place to stay for the night after deciding to stay in Fire Fountain City for a few days. Mika picked a newspaper up from a newsstand. There were stories about crimes committed by a gang called the Fire Phoenix' and how the Red Huntress stopped them. It looked like the only people who didn't like the Red Huntress were the police because she was practically doing their job for them.<p>

"Interested with the Red Huntress?" the newsstand owner asked "She's quite the local legend. Some people think she's the daughter of one of the Fire Phoenix Gang's victims, others think she's the ghost of-"

"Sarvin? Are you spreading ghost stories again?" a woman asked.

"I'm just sharing a local legend, Miss Jain," said the newsstand owner "You kids want to hear it?"

"Sure!" Dao-ming exclaimed "I love ghost stories!"

"No you don't. You've had nightmares every time we've told ghost stories," said Jiro and Dao-ming stuck her tongue out at him.

"A'right," said Sarvin "Some people believe that the Red Huntress is the ghost of Shena Jīn,"

"Shena Jīn? Who's she?" Jiro asked.

"10 years ago, we had a Mayor Jīn. Mayor Jīn was a dirty politician who had the help of the Fire Phoenix Gang to win the election. But, then, Mayor Jīn couldn't pay them back. The Fire Phoenix Gang set his house on fire and killed his wife," said Sarvin "The only survivor of the fire was the Mayor's 4-year-old daughter, Shena Jīn. The Fire Phoenix Gang kidnapped her and killed her right in front of her already grief stricken father. Mayor Jīn was so grief stricken, he took his own life!"

"They say Shena Jīn's ghost has appeared ever since and when her and her mother's murderer was released from prison on parole, it enraged her and now she appears as the Red Huntress; seeking to destroy the Fire Phoenix Gang for good!" Miss Jain said "But she might not even be dead. Her body was never found,"

"Creepy," said Mika "Hey, do you know where we could stay for a couple of days? We've been travelling for a while and we need to rest,"

"Miss Jain here has a boarding house. She'll let you stay for free if you earn your keep," said Sarvin.

"Got a big enough place for an eel hound?" Mika asked the old woman.

"I have a barn," said Miss Jain "Come. I'll take you know,"

* * *

><p>Miss Jain's Boarding House was quaint. It was a big house with plenty of empty rooms. Dao-ming was tasked to earn her keep by washing the bedsheets. Jiro was asked to chop firewood outside. And Mika was told to help make dinner.<p>

"How come I'm the one who's helping you make dinner, Miss Jain?" the young Avatar asked while her head was in a cupboard.

"Oh, I was just looking to get to know you better... Avatar Mika,"

At the sound of her title, Mika bumped her head on the roof of the cupboard.

"Ow!" the discovered Avatar cried out and she stood back with her hand on the back of her head "How'd you know I'm the Avatar?"

"When you get to my age, you learn some things," said Miss Jain "So, Avatar Mika, why are you in Fire Fountain City?"

"Me and my friends-"

"Fire Prince Jiro and daughter of a nobleman, Dao-ming Liu," said Miss Jain.

"Yeah. We're heading to a town called Tiji," said the young Avatar "It's on the other side of the Fire Nation. We're, uh, just passing through,"

"And you're interested in the Red Huntress, according to your questions you asked Sarvin," said Miss Jain.

"Kinda," said Mika "Making peace between humans and Spirits is kinda my job as the Avatar. Plus, I want to free this town of the Fire Phoenix Gang's tyranny. So, who do you think is the Red Huntress?"

Before Miss Jain could answer, the kitchen door was opened and a teenaged girl came in. She had amber eyes and black hair that was in a Fire Nation topknot, her skin was pale but what was really noticeable were the scars. She had a burn scar up her neck visible where her collar didn't reach, there were more burn scars around her arms that were visible because of her t-shirt had short-sleeves and the neck scar actually went further up and crossed her face, going over the left side of her face at a diagonal angle.

"Mika, this is my granddaughter," said Miss Jain "Ana, this is Mika. Mika and her friends are staying with us for about 3 days,"

"Hi," Mika greeted, offering her hand "It's good to meet you, Ana,"

"You, too," said Ana, cautiously shaking Mika's hand.

Mika's eyes slightly widened and she squeaked slightly at just how tender Ana's burned hand was. Ana took a pair of fingerless gloves that were stuffed between her belt and jeans and she put them on but you could see the tip of the burn on some of her fingers.

"Got anything for me to do, Grandma Jain?" Ana asked.

"No, no, Ana," said Miss Jain "You can go be with your friends,"

"I don't _have _any friends, Grandma Jain," said Ana, putting her hands on her hips "Got any work you need me to do?" and she crossed her arms.

"Well... there are some loosen tiles on the roof, you mind fixing that?" Miss Jain asked.

"No problem, Grandma Jain," said Ana "I'll get right on it,"

* * *

><p>Jiro was actually used to cutting firewood with an axe because he had lived at the Fire Monestry and, during Winter, he would have to cut the firewood. Jiro heard someone coming and he looked up.<p>

A girl covered in burn scars walked past him wearing a tool belt and holding a bucket of nails.

"Hello, Prince Jiro," she said and kept walking, not even introducing herself or saying how she knew who he was.

Jiro looked at her with one eyebrow raised above his dark glasses lense.

* * *

><p>Dao-ming straightened a bedsheet on the line and slid on some pegs. The youngest member of Team Avatar picked up the basket of clean sheets under her arm and walked around the clothes line. Dao-ming noticed a girl with arms covered in burn scars climbing up a ladder to the roof.<p>

"Hello?" Dao-ming called up to her "Who are you?"

"I'm Ana. I'm Grandma Jain's granddaughter," the girl called down and when she turned to look at Dao-ming, the 11-year-old firebender saw her face was also burned.

"It's good to meet you," Dao-ming called.

"You better take the washing inside," called Ana "Grandma Jain will probably want to change the sheets in the rooms before night,"

"Okay," Dao-ming called back and she walked away.

* * *

><p>Ana sat on the roof of the house, kneeling on the edge. The scarred girl took out a nail and hammered in on the edge of the new wooden tile. She could tell... the new residence had stared at her scars. Tears began to creep down her cheeks as she nailed in the wooden tiles, her vision fogging over. Ana put down the hammer and wiped her eyes with her left lower arm.<p>

Ana sniffed and got back to work on the roof. But she didn't have the strength to hammer a nail in place so the nail fell on its side. Ana let go of her hammer and covered her eyes, crying into her hands.

Why did her grandmother have to run a boarding house? So many people had stared and even mocked her over her scars. It wasn't her fault! It wasn't like she wanted to be scarred...

* * *

><p>Dao-ming was the one who had to help Miss Jain change the bedsheets.<p>

"I met your granddaughter," said Dao-ming "She seems nice, a bit distant though,"

"Ana? Yes, she's self-conscious because, well, you probably saw why," said Miss Jain "She's really a nice girl but no one can see past her scars,

Dao-ming and Miss Jain tucked in the bedsheet and began putting the pillows in new cases.

"I don't mean to pry but," said Dao-ming "How did Ana get all those burns?"

"There was a fire when Ana was little," said Miss Jain "Ana lost both her parents and has been living with me ever since,"

"Oh," said Dao-ming "That's sad... I lost my big sister in a fire,"

Miss Jain put her hand on Dao-ming's shoulder in a reassuring gesture.

* * *

><p>It was 9 o'clock at night...<p>

...and Team Avatar were going out. They decided to try and put an end to the Fire Phoenix Gang and determine if the Red Huntress was a Spirit that needed help or a person looking for revenge.

"I beg you to reconsider!" Miss Jain said "The Red Huntress has always protected people from the Fire Phoenix Gang but if you expose her she'll be arrested. And the Fire Phoenix Gang has been running this town for 20 years,"

Team Avatar ignored her and walked towards the kitchen door.

"Sorry, Miss Jain," said Jiro "But this kinda thing is kinda _our _thing,"

"Okay... Do you know where you're going?" Miss Jain asked.

"Not really. Do you think Ana might be able to take us?" Dao-ming asked.

Miss Jain's eyes widened.

"Uh... Ana is in bed, she's an early riser so she goes to bed early," said the old woman.

"Well, okay," said Dao-ming.

"We'll be back by morning," said Mika "Bye, Miss Jain,"

"Bye, Miss Jain," Jiro and Dao-ming said in unison.

And Team Avatar walked out the door.

* * *

><p>Which is how Team Avatar found themselves against a wall and looking up at the Red Huntress.<p>

The vigilante had 3 flaming throwing stars in her her right hand and a bo staff in her left.

"It's Red Huntress! Kill her!" ordered a Fire Phoenix.

The gangsters threw their fire up at the Red Huntress. She ran down the rooftop and jumped down, bringing her bo staff down on one of the Fire Phoenix gangsters' head, knocking him out.

Jiro released his lightning and shot at a gangster coming up on the Red Huntress's back. The vigilante pushed the final gangster with her bo staff and pushed him against the wall.

"Where's Big Phoenix?" the Red Huntress asked "Where?!"

She pushed her bo staff harder and it slid up to the gangster's neck. The Fire Phoenix gangster began to choke.

"That's enough, Red Huntress," said Jiro, pulling the Red Huntress away.

The gangster held his neck, breathing heavily.

"C'mon. Let's go," said one of the other gangsters.

The 2 other gangsters picked up their lightheaded friend and helped him hobble away. When the gangsters were gone the Red Huntress swung her bo staff at Jiro and stopped it just by his head, the end of the bo staff stuck into the wall of the alley.

"What was that?" the Red Huntress yelled at him "That was the best chance I've had at finding Big Phoenix in a long time! I don't care if you're a Fire Prince, you just cost me my chance at revenge!"

"How did you know I'm a Fire Prince?" Jiro asked.

"Who are you?" Mika asked, moving the end of the Red Huntress's bo staff.

The Red Huntress took back the end of her bo staff and glared at them.

"Shena Jīn," said the vigilante, smirking.

Then the Red Huntress backflipped onto the edge of a roof and disappeared.

* * *

><p>"What a psycho," said Jiro, once Team Avatar had returned to Miss Jain's Boarding House "You think she's the ghost of Shena Jīn?"<p>

Jiro was sat on the sofa with Dao-ming and Mika standing up.

"If she was the ghost, wouldn't she be 4-years-old?" Dao-ming asked.

"Remember what Miss Jain said? Shena Jīn's body was never found," said Mika.

Team Avatar were in the living room of Miss Jain's Boarding House. It was 2 a.m.

"So what?" Jiro asked "You think Shena Jīn's still alive and she's getting revenge?"

"Maybe. Remember what the Red Huntress asked the Fire Phoenix she was choking? Who's Big Phoenix?" Dao-ming asked.

"Sounds like the leader of the Fire Phoenix Gang," said Mika "What should we do? The Red Huntress is very much alive and very much human, she isn't a Spirit or a ghost,"

"I say we take down the Fire Phoenix Gang, that'll deprive her of a reason to be the Red Huntress and then we leave," said Jiro, putting his feet on the coffee table with his arms crossed behind his head "We have to get to Tiji at some point,"

"I know we have to get to Tiji at some point," said Mika, grinding her teeth "But we have to do something,"

"Why do we have to do something?" Jiro said, standing up "Seriously, why? Why do _we _have to do anything? I mean, Fire Fountain City already has the Red Huntress to fight the Fire Phoenix Gang! Why do we have to? The whole point of this journey is to find _your _father, Mika! Why are we making all these little stops?"

"Jiro, what are you talking about? We're helping people because it's the right thing to do," said Dao-ming "What? Are you regretting helping people? People like Hong?"

"What I'm saying is that we don't _have _to do anything this time. Fire Fountain City already has Red Huntress, why should we interfere?" said Jiro.

"Jiro! Red Huntress nearly killed that Fire Phoenix, you're the one who stopped her. She'll kill Big Phoenix then Red Huntress will be sent to prison for murder!" said Mika "We can't let a good person go to prison because of- you know what? Forget it! If you don't feel like helping this city, you don't have to. But I'm the Avatar and keeping peace and ending conflicts is my job," and Mika walked out.

Dao-ming and Jiro watched her leave before looking at each other.

"The Air Nomads used to say that revenge is like a two-headed rat-viper. While your enemy goes down, you're being poisoned yourself," said Dao-ming "If Red Huntress gets her revenge by murdering Big Phoenix... she'll be arrested and put in prison. If Red Huntress is a good person, then we should stop her from sending _herself _to prison,"

* * *

><p>Ana was sitting at the edge of her bathroom's bathtub. She wiped away the skin make-up to reveal her scars and the make-up washed down the drain. Ana stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. She was yet to wash away the skin make-up on her face so, when she saw herself, she saw herself if she wasn't scarred. Ana had considered putting on make-up to hide her scars so people would accept her when she went out. But she wouldn't want to hide her scars from any friend she made. Ana turned on a tap, dampened a flannel and put it to her face. When she looked back in the mirror, she saw the scar across her face and put the tips of her scarred fingers to it. Ana closed her eyes as she felt the flames on her skin again...<p>

_The 4-year-old Ana ran through the house as it was engulfed in flames. Her trousers had caught fire and burned her legs. Ana grabbed a doorknob but let go when it burned her. She put the end of her sleeves over her palms, grabbed hold of the doorknob and opened the door. The door led to her parents' room and the flames burst out at her, setting her sleeves on fire. Ana looked into the room and saw, through the flames, her mother half buried in ceiling rubble. Her mother was horribly burned. _

_"Mommy!" Ana exclaimed but then the floor beneath her feet gave out._

_Ana fell to the ground floor and landed in the rubble of the living room. _

Ana punched the glass of the mirror and it smashed. She collapsed to the floor and curled up, crying over the memory of how she got the scar on her face.

_Ana was held by the back of her shirt by Big Phoenix at the edge of Fire Fountain City, at the bottom of the mountain. Big Phoenix held a flame in his hand as Ana's father begged for her life. Big Phoenix lifted Ana off the ground and looked at her. The leader of the Fire Phoenix Gang brought his flames down on the 4-year-old. Big Phoenix threw the burning Ana at her father's feet. Ana's father looked at his burning daughter and cried. Unknown to him, Ana was alive but the pain of the fire had put her in a state of shock. _

_"My wife. My daughter. I have nothing to live for," Ana's father said._

_"You're right about that," said Big Phoenix, and he pointed a gun at him._

_Ana's father looked up from his daughter and was shot dead. Tears appeared in Ana's eyes and not from being on fire. Miss Jain appeared and saw her son-in-law dead and her granddaughter on fire._

_"Shena!" Miss Jain exclaimed._

_Miss Jain grabbed a bucket, ran to the mountain stream, filled up the bucket, ran back to her granddaughter and poured the water on Ana. Ana lay there. All new scarring across her being._

Ana kept crying in the bathroom corner. Miss Jain opened the door and saw her granddaughter crying. Ana looked up at her grandmother.

"Grandma Jain," Ana cried.

"Oh, Ana!" Miss Jain went over to Ana and hugged her.

* * *

><p>Mika lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, as she thought over what happened. Jiro was right, of course. The main reason they had left the Fire Monestry was to find her father... actually, it was the only reason why she had left. Mika closed her eyes and tried to scrounge a memory about her father.<p>

_A 4-year-old Mika was sitting in her family's living room as she watched a T.V show._

_"Mika!" Haya-Ji called._

_Mika got up and ran to the front door._

_"Daddy!" she called._

_"Mika, I have a surprise for you," Haya-Ji said, holding a box._

_"What? What? What?!" Mika exclaimed, jumping around her father's feet._

_Haya-Ji put the box on the floor and knelt by it. Mika got on her knees and waited. Haya-Ji opened the box and put his finger to his lips. Mika looked into the box and covered her mouth to smother her squeal. In the box was a sleeping eel hound puppy._

_"One of the eel hounds your mother looks after had babies. The mother is sadly dead so now it's up to the town to raise the litter. I thought you would like a friend," said Haya-Ji._

_The eel hound puppy opened its eyes and yawned, looking up at Mika. Mika reached down and picked up the eel hound puppy. The 4-year-old fell on her bottom with the eel hound in her arms. Mika giggled and scratched the eel hound's head._

_"I'm gonna name her Gen-Gen! No, wait, Amissa! I'm gonna name her Amissa!" Mika decided._

* * *

><p>The next morning...<p>

...Team Avatar were out with Miss Jain and Ana. They were at the farmers market, getting some food for dinner. Ana was holding the basket while Miss Jain put vegetables and fruits in it. There were a group of girls who were pointing at Ana and whispering. Ana tried to ignore them but couldn't...

"You know you're not being very subtle?!" she shouted at them and they scurried away.

Mika looked at Ana as Ana turned around and kept a hold of the grocery bag.

Some Fire Phoenix gangsters walked up to a market stall and began demanding money. Everyone else stopped still as it all happened. Jiro looked to Ana, but she was gone.

"We said, give us 200 yuans," said one of the Fire Phoenix gangsters.

"I don't have 200 yuans," stammered the old man who owned the stall.

"Too bad," said the gangster and he created fire in his fist.

Before he could set fire to the stall, the Red Huntress appeared on the roof of the stall.

"Leave. Now. Or I'll make you wish you were never born," said the Red Huntress, standing straight.

"How about this instead?" said the Fire Phoenix gangster and he shot fire at her.

The Red Huntress jumped down and attacked. She swung her bo staff and threw some throwing stars. The Fire Phoenix gangsters shot fire at her and the Red Huntress backflipped away. The 4 Fire Phoenix gangsters took positions and fired continuous streams of fire at her.

Team Avatar ran up to her aid. Mika stomped the ground and a crack appeared, running to one of the gangsters and she earthbended the ground beneath him to mess up his firebending stance and trip him up. Dao-ming jumped up and kicked a burst of fire at another. A whirlwind of fire was still burning around the Red Huntress. Jiro took a breath and created lightning. The Fire Prince shot his lightning at the second to last Fire Phoenix.

Before Team Avatar could take down the 4th and final gangster, the fiery whirlwind began to dissipate. The flames separated enough to reveal the Red Huntress... firebending! The Red Huntress moved her hands over her head and brought her hands down, making the whirlwind of fire disappear all together. The final Fire Phoenix backed away and the Red Huntress shot _lightning _at him.

Everyone around stared at the vigilante in shock. Who knew the Red Huntress was a firebender? From no where, one of the fallen Fire Phoenix gangsters got up and shot the Red Huntress into the fountain. Now, the Fire Fountain City fire fountain did have a small pool of water under the giant Fire Lord statue. Because Red Huntress was shot in the back, the knot that tied her mask on was burned and her mask came off.

Red Huntress stood up from the fountain, completely soaked. In exhaustion, the Red Huntress flicked her free hair out of her face. The vigilante looked into the water and saw the skin make-up mixed in with the water. Red Huntress turned around and looked at the crowd. She put her fingers to her face and felt her scar.

"Ana Jain? You're the Red Huntress?!" exclaimed one of the girls who had been whispering about her.

At this, Ana was officially sick and tired of hiding.

"My name isn't Ana Jain! It's Shena Jīn!" Shena shouted "And I'm sick of the Fire Phoenix Gang!"

"What are you? A ghost?" a man asked.

"If I was a ghost, I'd be 4 instead of 14! I was never dead!" Shena shouted "The Fire Phoenix Gang killed my mom in a fire and kidnapped me! Their leader, Big Phoenix, set me on fire and shot my dad!" fire burned around Shena's fists.

Shena stepped out of the fountain and grabbed the Fire Phoenix that had shot her into the fountain. She picked him up off the ground by his shirt and took out a throwing star from her belt.

"Where's Big Phoenix?!" she demanded.

* * *

><p>Big Phoenix was sitting in a basement, counting his stolen yuans.<p>

"Uh? Sir?" said a lieutenant in the Fire Phoenix Gang, coming down the stairs "There are cops, the Avatar, Fire Prince Jiro, the Avatar and the Fire Prince's friend and the Red Huntress at the door,"

Big Phoenix looked at him as if he was insane. But he was right.

* * *

><p>The next day...<p>

...Team Avatar was preparing to leave Fire Fountain City.

"So you're not being charged?" Jiro asked Shena as he helped pack Amissa's saddle bags.

"Nope. In fact, the Cheif of Police has instated the Red Huntress as a position in the Fire Fountain City Police Force," said Shena "I get to keep doing what I'm doing but the Cheif of Police will be giving me some cases,"

"But your identity is public knowledge," said Dao-ming.

"Yeah but, oh well! Working for the FFCPF is a good job and, when I retire from being the Red Huntress, the next Red Huntress will have a secret identity, unless they want to reveal their secret identity," said Shena.

"Oh, and I almost forgot to ask," said Mika "How did you know Jiro was the Fire Prince?"

"Oh yeah! How did you know?" Jiro asked as he got on Amissa's back.

"You look like all the newspaper pictures we've seen of Fire Prince Jiro," said Shena.

Amissa began walking away and Team Avatar waved farewell to Miss Jain and Shena.


	8. Chapter 8: Family Issues

Fire Nation Royal Family Trivia:

_Parents:_

_Fire Lord Cái and Fire Queen Ling. The name 'Ling' means delicate but Fire Queen Ling was initially a member of the Fire Nation Military, which is how General Ling met Fire Prince Cái. After they were married, they were crowned the Fire Lord and Fire Queen._

_Heirs to the Throne:_

_#1: Fire Prince Kazuo, age 14._

_#2: Fire Prince Jiro, age 12._

_#3: Fire Prince Renzo, age 10._

_#4: Fire Princess Maeko, age 9._

_#5: Fire Princess Kaya, age 7. Kaya was named after a family friend who lives in Republic City who is natively Water Tribe._

_#6: Fire Princess Nariko, age 4._

_#7 and 8: Fire Princess Tami and Fire Princess Yumi, age 2. Twins who will share the throne if they live long enough to ascend to the throne as twin Fire Lords._

_#9: Fire Prince Jing-sheng. Jing-sheng is the cousin of Fire Lord Cái, he is the son of Cái's mother's older brother who passed away in his 40s. Jing-sheng would have been Fire Lord after his aunt but because she had a son, Cái, he became 3rd in line for the throne. But when Cái and Ling began having children, more heirs to the throne took Jing-sheng's place until he became 9th in line and the chances of living long enough to gain the crown of the Fire Nation have slimmed. In the future, Cái and Ling's grandchildren will be before him, minimizing his chance to be Fire Lord even more._

* * *

><p><strong>Avatar: The Legend of Mika<strong>

* * *

><p>Earth. Fire. Air. Water...<p>

My ancestor, Fire Lord Zuko, helped Avatar Aang defeat his evil father, Fire Lord Ozai.

My ancestor, General Iroh, helped Avatar Korra defeat the evil of the Equalists.

Like all life, Avatar Korra had to inevitably leave this Earth.

And, like all life, it was inevitable that new life would be born into this Earth.

And so, the Avatar was born again...

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 8:<span>

Family Issues

"I. Am. _Bored!" _Dao-ming complained.

Team Avatar were camping out by a lake at the bottom of a waterfall, surrounded by walls of solid rock. The Fire Nation was known for being one of the warmest countries but that day was particularly hot. Mika had taken off her dark blue unbuttoned shirt so you could see her short-sleeved t-shirt she wore underneath and had rolled up her grey jeans, dangling her feet in the lake. Dao-ming had taken off her trousers and long-sleeved t-shirt off so she was in her short-sleeved knee-length dress. Considering they were alone, Jiro wasn't wearing his hooded jacket.

"I know you're bored," said Jiro, looking down at the Fire Nation map "How about you, oh I don't know, suck it up?!" the 2 firebenders sent death glares at each other.

"How about some bending practice?" Mika said, getting up and walking away from the water.

"Mika, we're firebenders and it's already boiling hot," said Jiro "So that sounds like a _ really _bad idea,"

"Oh, come on. Let's see how good a firebender you 2 are if we're standing in water," challenged Mika, putting her hands on her hips and smiling.

* * *

><p>The 3 firebenders stood across from each other in the water, that came up to their waists.<p>

Jiro shot a fire blast at Mika and she redirected it at Dao-ming. Dao-ming redirected it back to Jiro. Team Avatar continued to play catch with the fireball. Jiro threw it far and Mika ran through the water, splashing it around her until she tripped and the fire ball hit the water and ceased to exist.

"Ah man," said Jiro "Create another fireball and let's keep playing!"

"Uh, okay," said Mika "What did Sifu Sanzo say? Focus on the Sun, take a breath and let the breath become energy inside of me, direct the energy through my limbs, release the energy from my hands and it'll become fire," Mika tried and failed to create a fire blast and she fell back into the water.

Jiro and Dao-ming looked at each other and began laughing until they fell into the water themselves. They poked their heads up, sitting on the bottom of the lake. Team Avatar stood up and walked over to the shore.

"That was fun," said Jiro "But you need to learn to create fire,"

"I know and I've tried!" Mika exclaimed.

The group laughed until someone shouted out...

"Jiro?!"

Team Avatar turned around and saw a little girl, about 7-years-old, with black hair done in 2 short braids on either side of her head with a topknot and wearing a red sundress and a black t-shirt underneath. She had a yellowish skin tone like most members of the Fire Nation and her eyes were the traditional gold.

Jiro stared at her in surprise.

"K-Kaya?" he stammered "What?" and this 'Kaya' ran up to him and hugged his legs.

"Jiro! I've missed you so much! Mommy and Daddy were scared when they got the messenger hawk that said you were on a trip!" Kaya exclaimed.

"Uh, Jiro? Who's that?" Mika asked, pointing her finger at the clingy little girl.

"This is Fire Princess Kaya... my little sister," said Jiro "What are you doing here, Kay-Kay?"

"Me and everyone else were on our way back to the Capital when the satomobile broke down! C'mon! Everyone will be happy to see you!" Kaya said, pulling Jiro's hand.

"Uh, Jiro?" Mika said as Jiro allowed his sister to pull him along.

Mika and Dao-ming looked at each other.

"I guess we're meeting Jiro's family," said Dao-ming and they ran after the Fire Prince and Fire Princess.

* * *

><p>The Royal Family were waiting around while the guards were trying to fix the satomobile. Kazuo was reading a book, Renzo was playing a computer game, Maeko was playing dolls with Nariko and Tami and Yumi were being held by their parents. Cái and Ling were watching the guards work.<p>

Nariko looked up from her doll game and looked around.

"Mommy? Daddy? Where's Kaya?" the 4-year-old Fire Princess asked.

Ling and Cái looked around and Ling's eyes widened. The Fire Queen grabbed her husband's arm.

"Where is she?!" Ling was known for being brave and ruthless but she loved her children dearly and would die before letting something happen to one of her babies "Cái! Where's Kaya?" Ling held onto Yumi tightly as she looked around "Kaya! Kaya? Kaya?!"

"Ling, calm down. She's probably just wandered off," said the Fire Lord.

"Kaya! Kay-Kay?!" Ling called.

"I'm over here!" Kaya called from among the trees along the side of the road "Guess who I found!"

Kaya came out of the trees holding Jiro's hand... Wait. Jiro?

"Jiro?" everyone exclaimed.

"Hi," said Jiro and Mika and Dao-ming came out behind him "What's up?"

"What are you doing here, little brother?" Kazuo asked.

"Oh, just travelling with the Avatar. Why are you here?" Jiro asked.

"We're on our way home, what about you? Why are you here?" Renzo asked.

"Me, Mika and Dao-ming are heading to the other side of the Fire Nation. I guess I didn't realize just how close to the Capital we are," said Jiro, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You should come home for a few days," said Maeko, giving Nariko the doll she was playing with.

"Huh? Where did that come from?" Jiro asked.

"Why did you leave the Fire Monestry in the first place?" Renzo asked.

"Wellllllllllllllllll," Jiro trailed off.

"My father," Mika interrupted "he disappeared 8 years ago and his last known location was a town on the other side of the Fire Nation called Tiji. Jiro and Dao-ming here are helping me find out what happened to him,"

"Oh, I hope you find him," said Ling, bowing "It is good to meet you, Avatar Mika," and Mika bowed back.

"You should come to the Capital with us. You can rest for a few days and tell us your adventures while you were away. Then, you can go on your way to Tiji," said Cái "We've missed Jiro and it would be nice to have guests,"

"A'right. It would be good to take a break. Every time we go somewhere, we end up getting involved in something," said Dao-ming "Hey, Mika? Think you could call Amissa from here? She's still loaded with our stuff,"

Mika let out a whistle and that echoed around. Amissa came thumping through the trees. Jiro's sisters and Renzo squealed and cowered at Amissa. Mika stepped up to her Animal Guide's head and patted her neck.

"Relax! Amissa's really friendly. In fact, her name means friend," said Mika "We'll follow on Amissa,"

Kaya walked up to Amissa and reached out her hand. Amissa bowed her head and placed her nose in Kaya's hand then pushed forward so her hand went on her forehead. Kaya smiled and began properly patting the eel hound.

"She's cute, can I ride her with you?" Kaya asked, the Fire Princess turned to her parents "Please, Mommy? Please, Daddy?"

"If me, Dao-ming and Jiro are riding Amissa then there isn't any room, even for someone as small as Kaya," said Mika.

"Then Jiro can come in the satomobile with us," said the Fire Lord "Give Ling time to get all the embarrassing mother smothering out of her system,"

"Cái!" said Ling, punching his arm then regaining her hold over her youngest daughter (or second youngest daughter).

"Sure. I haven't been in a satomobile for a while," said Jiro.

* * *

><p>Kaya shrieked with joy as Amissa sped along the road, moving just as fast as the satomobile. Kaya was in front of Mika, who had her arms around the young Fire Princess for safety, with Dao-ming at the back.<p>

"Cool!" Renzo said, sitting on the seat the wrong way to look out the window "I wanna try that!"

"It's not as fun as it seems," said Jiro, his arms crossed behind his head "I've had to ride on Amissa for up to _4 hours! _Trust me, little brother, it gets old,"

Renzo looked at his older brother before looking back outside. Kaya was holding the rains along with Mika and was having the time of her life.

"I still want to have a go," said the younger Fire Prince "Think you could ask the Avatar for me?"

"Mika? Eh, she'll be okay with it. She loves little kids," said Jiro "She has 2 sisters,"

"The Avatar has 2 sisters?" Maeko asked, getting up and sitting next to her brother.

"Yeah," said Jiro "Mika has an older sister called Mei-Lien, she's a Kyoshi Warrior,"

"What's a Kyoshi Warrior?" Nariko asked.

"Mika comes from a Southern Earth Kingdom island called Kyoshi Island. The island is named after Avatar Kyoshi, who was born there. All the warriors on Kyoshi Island are stylized after Avatar Kyoshi," said Jiro "Mika also has a little sister, Yi, who's 8,"

"You said Avatar Mika's father disappeared 8 years ago," said Cái "And Mika's sister is 8?"

"Mika says her mother, Nao, was pregnant with Yi when her father, Haya-Ji, went missing. He doesn't even know if he has 3 daughters or 2 daughters and a son," said Jiro, looking at his parents "It's pretty sad... So? What's happened while I was away?"

"Ooh! Ooh! There's a new mover from the Earth Kingdom! I _really _wanna go see it but Mom and Dad won't let me and Kazuo won't take me!" Renzo said "How 'bout you, big brother? We could go before you leave again,"

Jiro ruffled Renzo's hair.

"Maybe, Renz, maybe," the older Fire Prince said.

* * *

><p>When the Royal Family's satomobile pulled up outside the Royal Palace, the large group of fans outside the palace gates screamed and the Palace Guards pushed them back. But when the long absent Fire Prince Jiro got out of the satomobile, even the Palace Guards were stunned. Amissa with Kaya, Mika and Dao-ming came to a stop next to them.<p>

Dao-ming got off and took Kaya from Mika. The 7-year-old Fire Princess ran over to her family.

"C'mon, I'll give you a tour of the place," said Jiro "And take notes, this place is a maze!"

* * *

><p>"Fire Lord Sozen, Fire Lord Azulon, Fire Lord Ozai, Fire Lord Zuko," said Jiro, pointing at the large portraits on the wall "There are a buncha Fire Lords here,"<p>

"I'm surprised you didn't try and erase Sozen, Azulon and Ozai from your people's history," said Mika "From what I know, they were tyrants during the Hundred Year War,"

"How'd that war begin?" Dao-ming asked.

"The Fire Nation were at a peaceful point in history and Fire Lord Sozen wanted the rest of the world to experience the same peace. He just went about spreading the peace in the worst way," said Jiro "His son, Fire Lord Azulon, was less about spreading peace and more about taking over the world. Then Azulon's second son, Ozai, took the throne,"

"You was Azulon's first son?" Mika asked.

"Iroh," said Jiro.

"I thought Iroh was you're great-grandfather?" Dao-ming asked.

"My great-grandfather was named after Fire Lord Zuko's uncle, Iroh," said Jiro "Ozai poisoned his father and claimed Azulon's dying wish was for his second son to succeed him. Ozai was the one who battled Avatar Aang at the end of the Hundred Year War while his army used the power of Sozen's Comet to destroy the Earth Kingdom, like Sozen had done to the Air Nomads,"

"How do you know all this. I know it's about your ancestors but still," said Mika.

"They say those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. By studying the Hundred Year War, hopefully it'll teach future Fire Lords that war cannot bring peace," said Jiro "That's what my grandmothers says,"

"You're grandmother?" Mika said.

"My grandmother was the 3rd child of Iroh, as in my great-grandfather Iroh, and she was Fire Lord before my father. She gave up the throne and my father became Fire Lord after he got married to my mother," said Jiro "Her older siblings have long since passed away,"

* * *

><p>In the dining room, a figure crept towards the roofed areas where the Fire Lord and Fire Queen would sit. The figure did what he came to do and hid just as Cái and Ling came in with Maeko and Kazuo. The figure hid behind a pillar as the Royals walked through.<p>

* * *

><p>Mika was in the garden with Amissa as she gave Jiro's little siblings rides on the eel hound. Nariko sat on the Animal Guide's saddle with Renzo. The Fire Prince and Fire Princesses were having the time of their lives. Dao-ming helped Nariko off and Renzo put his hands on Mika's shoulders.<p>

"Hold on, Renzo," said the young Avatar.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go!" Renzo exclaimed.

Mika smirked and pulled on Amissa's rains. The Animal Guide ran forward and got the message Mika wanted to push it. Mika put the rains around her waist and used her now free hands to earthbend. The young Avatar made her hands into fists and crossed her lower arms in front of her to create an earth ramp. Amissa ran up the ramp and onto the roof, the earth ramp falling back into the earth as Amissa jumped off. Mika took hold of the rains again and continued to steer her along the roof. The Fire Princesses stared at them in ah. Renzo was shrieking as Amissa got faster and faster. Mika cracked the rains and the eel hound jumped to a higher roof and kept getting higher and higher.

"Avatar Mika! Slow down! Please!" Renzo exclaimed as he tightened his grip on her.

Mika directed Amissa along a roof and the Animal Guide jumped from the roof and to the wall surrounding the Royal Palace. Renzo started to enjoy it until he looked down. The people at the gates looked up and screamed when they saw Fire Prince Renzo on the back of an eel hound. Amissa trotted along the wall and jumped back over to the roof of the palace. Renzo held onto Mika's shoulders tighter and they landed on the edge of the roof, Amissa's hind legs scratching the wall as she climbed onto the roof. When Amissa returned to the garden with Mika and Renzo, the 10-year-old Fire Prince was as pale as a sheet.

"That was totally flamin'!" Jiro said, helping Renzo down "Hey, little brother, are you okay?"

Renzo was weak in the knees after a ride like that. The younger Fire Prince held onto his older brother for support.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Renzo exclaimed, jumping back "It was terrifying but really, really, really fun!"

* * *

><p>Later that night...<p>

...the Royal Family and Team Avatar were sitting at the table for dinner. The dining room was similar to the throne room actually. The Fire Lord and Fire Queen were sitting under a roofed area on a low podium to sue their authority. The rest of their children and (on this occasion) Team Avatar were sitting at a long table for dinner.

"Jiro said you couldn't handle a lot of Fire Nation food," said Ling "And I'm friends with Earth Queen Mo Li so our chefs prepared some Earth Kingdom food for you,"

"Thank you, Fire Queen Ling," said the young Avatar, bowing the Fire Nation way, then she noticed what the food was "Possum-chicken soup? My mother would have possum-chicken meat imported to Kyoshi Island just so she could make this, it's my little sister; Yi's, favourite,"

"Tell us, Avatar Mika, what is your home island like? Jiro said it's the same place the previous Earth Kingdom Avatar, Avatar Kyoshi, was born," said Cái.

"Kyoshi Island is a wonderful place to live. Its small with one village. Its in the Southern hemisphere and is the closest non-Water Tribe island near the South Pole but you can find people wearing Water Tribe clothing there," said Mika "Every year we celebrate the founding of Kyoshi Island with a holiday called Kyoshi Day. The last Kyoshi Day was over 2 months ago, it was the day I found out I'm the Avatar,"

"What about defence? Who protects Kyoshi Island?" Kazuo asked, which was the first time Mika heard him talk.

"Several people. There's the Kyoshi Warriors. My older sister, Mei-Lien, is a Kyoshi Warrior and the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors is a girl named Emiko. Emiko's pet eel hound is Amissa's older sister," said Mika, sipping a spoonful of possum-chicken soup "Mmh! This soup is delicious, my mom normally puts too much or too little cinnamon,"

"I'm glad you like it," said Ling "The Earth Queen likes it the same way,"

"So how long do you think you can stay? Though we would love Jiro to stay, it's obvious he's needed," said Cái "We can give you new supplies and whatever you need,"

"We'll stay for a few days, Dad," said Jiro "But we'll have to plan out rout and prepare for most of that time,"

The doors to the dinning room opened and a man walked in. He had a Fire Nation ponytail and was wearing Fire Nation robes, his eyes were brown like his hair.

"Hello, cousin," said the Fire Lord "Do you wish to join us?" Cái offered, putting his hand out to gesture to the table.

"Perhaps I will," said the man.

The man took a seat at the end of the table and a servant woman put a plate in front of him.

"Avatar Mika and Dao-ming, this is my cousin," said Cái "Fire Prince Jing-sheng, these are Jiro's friends; Dao-ming Liu of the noble Liu Family and Avatar Mika,"

Jing-sheng nodded his head to the girls and took a bite from the piece of meat on his plate.

Later on during the meal, Mika accidentally knocked her fork to the floor. The young Avatar reached down to pick it up when she sensed something in the stone flooring. Mika got out of her seat and corkscrewed her fingers into the stone to feel the vibrations. The flooring under the Fire Lord and Fire Queen was loose! And with each movement, it was getting move unstable.

"Uh? Mika? What are you doing to the floor?" Jiro asked.

"Fire Lord Cái, Fire Queen Ling. Don't move. The flooring beneath you is loose and it'll give way at any second!" alerted Mika.

"What?" said Ling "What are we meant to do?"

Mika stood up and lifted her lower arms, her fingers bent upwards with her palms up and her feet apart. Mika stepped one foot forward and dug her heel into the stone floor. The floor rumbled slightly and 2 pillars shot up under the Fire Lord and Fire Queen to support the flooring beneath them.

"You can move now," said the young Avatar and the Fire Lord and Fire Queen got up "What would have happened if the flooring gave out?"

Cái and Ling started walking down the steps to them.

"We would have fallen and broken our necks," said Ling "How did you know the floor was about to give out?"

"Some earthbenders have the ability to use a sub-bending called seismic sense. It's when an earthbender uses earthbending to sense the seismic changes in the earth," said Mika "The earthbender who invented it, Toph Beifong, was blind and used it to see,"

Mika stomped on the ground and the support pillars she had created sank back into the earth. As soon as she did that, the floor where the Fire Lord and Fire Queen were sitting fell.

"Uh. Mom? Dad?" said Jiro "I think someone's trying to kill you,"

* * *

><p>"Someone's trying to assassinate the Fire Lord and Fire Queen?!" a governor shouted.<p>

The Royal Court were assembled over the attempted assassination. Mika was allowed to sit in on the meeting because she was the Avatar and Jiro was allowed along with Kazuo because they were the Fire Princes.

"Governor Jin-Sang," said the Fire Lord "Calm yourself. My wife and I are fine thanks to Avatar Mika and her earthbending,"

"Honestly, Jin-Sang, you _are _a drama queen," said Jin-Sang's wife, Governess Mi Sun "But some kind of security measures should be taken. We can have the Yuyan Archers come and protect you, but it'll take up to 3 days for them to get here,"

"Team Avatar could protect my parents," said Jiro "We protdct them and if the assassin tries again we can capture them,"

"We can stay a couple of extra days," said Mika "My dad's waited 8 years to be found, he can wait a few more days,"

"Why, Avatar Mika, was that passive aggression?" Jiro said, smiling at her.

"Why, Fire Prince Jiro, I do believe you are correct," said Mika, smirking back.

"Are we really going to leave my cousin's safety to a group of kids who just did a passive aggression bit?" Jing-sheng said.

"Yes," said Mika with a sickly sweet smile.

"Why would someone want to kill my parents?" Kazuo asked.

Everyone looked at each other.

"Find a motive and you may find the assassin," said Jiro "That what you were thinking, big brother?" and Kazuo nodded.

* * *

><p>Because of the assassination attempt, it was decided the Royal Family would try to be safer while keeping up appearances. Mika was in the West side which was where things were stored like furniture. The young Avatar turned the corner but backtracked when she saw someone standing by a door that led outside. Mika hid behind the corner as she watched. Someone in a cloak came through the door and began speaking to the guy by the door.<p>

"You said they would be dead! How is it they survived?" the cloaked man asked.

"You never said the Avatar would be there," said the guy "That ain't my fault,"

"You're lucky the Fire Princes and Fire Princesses are still going to see that mover or you're plan to take them out would be void," said the cloaked man "If you fail, I'll hire someone who won't and add you to the list of victims!"

Mika covered her mouth and ran for it. Whoever was trying to assassinate the Fire Lord and Fire Queen also wanted to kill the heirs to the throne i.e Jiro and his siblings! The Royal Family were out to see that new mover Renzo wanted to see. It was a whole big event and everything with paparazzi and stuff like that.

* * *

><p>Mika rode on Amissa as fast as the eel hound could run. It was times like that that made Mika wish she had a Verri-phone. Amissa sped through the streets, looking for the mover cinema. If only Mika knew where the mover cinema was.<p>

* * *

><p>Jiro was with his family to go see the new mover. It was the first time since leaving the Fire Monestry he would appear in public and not have to worry about keeping his identity a secret. Dao-ming was with him because she loved movers.<p>

"Just keep an eye out for trouble," Jiro whispered to her.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll do that," said Dao-ming.

The Royal Family and Dao-ming were in the foyer of the mover cinema. They didn't look like royalty at that moment because they weren't dressed up in their formal robes. Several of the mover cinema employees were looking at each other and nodded to each other. They stepped forward and that's when Mika and Amissa burst through the doors. Amissa stumbled and fell over causing Mika to tumble onto the ground.

"Mika?!" Jiro exclaimed, him and Dao-ming going to their friends side "What's going on?"

"Jiro... the assassin intends to kill the _entire _Royal Family, that includes you and your siblings," said Mika, rubbing the back of her head "Jiro? Your older brother is first in line for the throne, Tami and Yumi are 7th and 8th in line but who's 9th?"

"Why does that matter?" Dao-ming asked.

"If the assassin was hired to kill Fire Lord Cái, Fire Queen Ling and the first 8 people in line for the throne then in would make sense that the 9th person in line would hire an assassin so they can take the throne sooner," said Mika "Jiro? Who's 9th in line?"

Cái looked confused.

"That can't be, Avatar Mika. The 9th person in line for the throne is my cousin, Jing-sheng," he said.

That's when they heard the click of guns. Jing-sheng and the assassins posing as cinema employees had guns pointed at the Royal Family.

"I'm taking the throne," said Jing-sheng "And I'm not waiting,"

"Jing-sheng? How would killing me and my family get you the crown?" Cái asked.

"You're an idiot Cái! I'll kill every person ahead of me and take the throne," said Jing-sheng.

"But if an heir to the Fire Nation throne kills those who are ahead of them in order to become Fire Lord, their right to the throne is void," said Cái "It's law. If you kill us, you won't become Fire Lord and a different family will take the throne, Fire Lord Zuko made the law,"

Jing-sheng looked sheepish. Oops... he hadn't considered that.

Mika rolled her eyes. She discretely took out her lighter and stood up. Mika snapped on the lighter and wove in forward, firebending the flame to a large whip and sending it at the assassins plus the now void Fire Prince Jing-sheng.

"Let's go," Mika said, directing the Royal Family towards the door.

The assassins got back up and Kaya and Nariko both took firebending stances. The 7-year-old and 4-year-old Fire Princesses took a step forwards and brought their hands together, creating fire and shooting it out at the assassins. The assassins were pushed back again and the Fire Princesses ran out.

"Since when could you do that?" Jiro asked, looking at his younger sisters.

They looked up at him and both giggled.


	9. Chapter 9: Life and Fire, Part 1

**Avatar: The Legend of Mika**

* * *

><p>Earth. Fire. Air. Water...<p>

My ancestor, Fire Lord Zuko, helped Avatar Aang defeat his evil father, Fire Lord Ozai.

My ancestor, General Iroh, helped Avatar Korra defeat the evil of the Equalists.

Like all life, Avatar Korra had to inevitably leave this Earth.

And, like all life, it was inevitable that new life would be born into this Earth.

And so, the Avatar was born again...

* * *

><p><span>Prologue:<span>

The More You Know

_"Who was the first waterbender?" the teacher asked._

_A girl named Panna put her hand up._

_"The Moon Spirit! The Water Tribe people saw the Moon Spirit work with the Ocean Spirit to make the tides and learned how to do the same!"_

_"Correct, Panna, can anyone name who the first earthbender was?" the teacher asked._

_"Oma and Sho! They were in love but couldn't be together 'cause their people were at war. They learned earthbending from the badger moles and made tunnels through the mountain that separated their villages to be together! Then Sho died in the war and Oma revealed her earthbending power! Instead of destroying everyone she ended the war and the 2 villages came together and created the great city of Omasho!" Panna said, waving her hand in the air._

_"Correct again, Panna," said the teacher "Mika?"_

_A 9-year-old Mika looked up from the doodling she was doing in her book and looked at the teacher._

_"Yes, ma'am?" Mika stuttered._

_"Can you tell me the origin of firebending?" the teacher asked, leaning on her desk by her hand._

_"Uhh..." Mika said, then something came back to her like an old dream "They, uh,"_

_"Dragons," said Panna, smiling smuggly "They-"_

_"The Great Masters of Firebending were the dragons. The first people to learn from the dragons were the Sun Warriors who were friends with them. The firebending that was taught by the dragons is what is currently known as the Secret of Firebending but it died with the dragons who were hunted to extinction by firebenders who wanted to earn the title Dragon during the Hundred Year War, a tradition started by Fire Lord Sozen. Legend has it that 2 dragons still remain called Ran and Shaw who give the Secret of Firebending to those who are worthy. Some believe that Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang were found worthy," Mika monologued, reciting it as if she had practised it repetitively._

_The entire class of 9-year-olds stared at her, their mouths hanging open._

_"Well... I'm not sure when you learned that but, very good Mika," said the teacher._

_Panna glared at her as the teacher continued by asking about airbending._

_"How on earth did you know all that? Cheat sheets? I bet you cheated!" Panna hissed at her._

Mika scratched behind Amissa's ears as the young Avatar sat beside her Animal Guide.

"Hey, Amissa? You think I know so much about bending because I'm subconsciously accessing my past lives' memories?" she asked, Amissa lifting her head and looking at her young master "Heh! This past lives thing is confusing. To think I've lived 102 times before, does that count as the world's longest lifespan?" and Mika crossed her arms behind her head and leaned back on her Animal Guide, Amissa dropping her head to the ground as they both nestled down.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 9:<span>

Life and Fire

Part 1

Team Avatar made their way around the edge of the continent. Literally the edge, they walked along a cliff that dropped into the sea. Jiro was at the front of the group with the map in hand. Dao-ming walked along side Mika who rode on Amissa's back.

"Are you sure this is the way to Tiji?" Dao-ming asked.

"Tiji is on the ocean front so if we keep near the coast we'll get there," said Jiro.

"Jiro, we're so near the coast we could drop off the map," said Dao-ming.

"Why are you 2 always against each other?" Mika asked.

"It keeps us grounded," said Dao-ming.

Dao-ming backtracked and opened one of Amissa's saddle bags. The 11-year-old firebender took out a pot of pickled fish and unscrewed the lid. Both Mika and Dao-ming held their noses at the smell. Dao-ming held her breath and took out a pickled fish. She crept up behind Jiro and was about to drop the smelly piece of food down the back of his t-shirt when...

"Don't even think about it, Dao-ming," he said.

"Think about what?" Dao-ming asked, quickly stuffing the piece of pickled fish in her mouth and partially gagging over the taste.

* * *

><p>Team Avatar continued along on their path around the coast. A huge wave splashed against the cliff and nearly soaked them. The sky was grey and it was spitting raindrops at them.<p>

"Jiro," said Mika and the Fire Prince turned around "Let me see the map,"

Jiro passed Mika the map and the young Avatar looked at it. She looked forward and saw the mountain a quarter mile away. Mika scratched her head and folded the map up.

"The weather's turning. Trying to hike that mountain would be like trying to tame the Unagi when the storm hits," said the young Avatar "Get on Amissa, we'll go into the forest and maybe find shelter before the storm hits,"

The wind picked up, the map nearly blew out of Mika's hands and she quickly stuffed it in a saddle bag. The young Avatar picked up her Animal Guide's rains and gave them a tug. Amissa turned to the forest and the rest of Team Avatar hopped on with the ease that came from practice. The eel hound ran into the forest and the crackling of lightning filled the air. The storm clouds swirled and it began to rain. The members of Team Avatar groaned as it poured down on them.

* * *

><p>Mika's hair scarf was stuck to her head as the rain pelted them. Dao-ming's usually high ponytail was weighed down and the ribbon was sliding out so only the bottom half of her hair was still in a ponytail. Jiro's hood was soaked through and his dark glasses had droplets of water on the lenses that obscured his vision. Amissa may have been part aquatic reptile but was also canine and the eel hound found the down pour just as awful as the people on her back. Team Avatar miserably went into a small clearing, entered a cave and set up camp.<p>

Mika stomped the ground and made a circular hole there, Dao-ming put some dry wood in the hole and Jiro lit it up. Mika earthbended each one of them an earth tent to change out of their wet clothes and into dry ones. Jiro changed into some black jeans, a red hooded jumper and a black hooded jacket with the hoods tucked together. Dao-ming changed to a black long-sleeved t-shirt under a red short-sleeved t-shirt and a black miniskirt with red-and-black striped tights underneath. Mika changed into a blue long-sleeved t-shirt, green hooded jacket and dark grey jeans with the Fire Nation emblem sawn in red at the bottom of the trouser legs.

Team Avatar crawled out of their respective earth tents and they put their soaked clothes up on a makeshift clothes line Mika had made by earthbending 2 pillars then using her kasuri-fundo as a line.

"That's not what a kasuri-fundo is for but it'll have to work," said the young Avatar as they all sat around the fire.

"You know, I've never seen you use that thing," said Jiro "How do you use it?"

"You can do a buncha stuff with it. You're meant to throw it forward and pull it back like a whip but it's made of metal so it can do a lot more," said Mika "I normally earthbend a boulder on one end and make it a morning star,"

"Cool, so what's for din-" Dao-ming was interrupted by a loud crack of lightning that cut down a tree outside the cave entrance "EEK!" she squealed.

Mika bent her fingers like claws, faced one palm up and one palm down and brought her hands together at a steady speed. The cave opening closed at the same rate of her hands moving until it was sealed. Jiro turned his hand to the right slightly and pushed forward, releasing a flame and feeding the fire.

They cooked some stored meat on spits for dinner but Dao-ming fell asleep before finishing so the last of her meal was given to Amissa after the eel hound had eaten her fill. Mika held onto each end of the split as she took a bite of her meat that was plausibly possum-chicken.

"So," said Jiro "What was life like on Kyoshi Island? You gave my family some culture facts but you never said what it was like,"

Mika took multiple bites of her food and swallowed it, hard. She took out her flask from Amissa's saddle bag and gulped it down.

"Mika?" Jiro asked "Are you okay?"

One side of Mika's face twitched, then she whined and began crying, berying her face in her hands. Jiro stared at her in shock.

"I- I- I- my- my- my-" Mika gasped, weeping "I m-mi-miss my- my- my m-mommy a- a- and my- my- my s-si-sist-ers! My- my- my mommy would make me possum-chicken soup when I- I- I was sick! *sniff* I'd tell her she put too much cinnamon in and next time she would be so paranoid of putting too much in she would put barely any! Then she would make hot chocolate to make it up and she always put a perfect amount of ginger in it with little marshmallows too!" Mika sniffed loudly and gasped, her cheeks red as she cried "My b-big s-sister used to wake me up at 6 a.m so that I c-could g-go to the- the Kyoshi Warrior Dojo with her! I'd watch her pr-prac-tise and she'd show m- me s-some fighting stances! *sniff*sniff* Then we'd go to the café and get breakfast. Mei-Lien'd get pancakes with syrup and I'd get pancakes with ice-cream... we'd swap pancakes and make pancake sandwiches. N-neither one o-of us liked the taste but it was fun and we'd get in a sticky mess!" Mika wiped her nose with her sleeve and rubbed her fists in her eyes "And m-my little sister... Yi loves nature. In Winter, she'd pull me outside at 4 a.m to go bird watching. And, in Summer, we'd go swimming in the cove with rented waterproof cameras and try and take pictures of the elephant-koi. We once camped on the beach for 3 days to try and get a picture of the Unagi... Yi demanded one of us be awake at all hours incase the Unagi appeared when we were asleep. We'd gotten so little sleep I was seeing things!" Amissa walked around her young master and sat behind her.

Mika wiped her nose and leaned against Amissa.

"I... I've never had that kind of family. I love mine to bits but we can never go out in public and have that kind of fun," said Jiro "I've always had to be careful about what the public see of me because of my family's public image. I'd give anything to be able to have the kind of life where I could walk down the street and get in trouble without embarrassing my entire family..." Jiro looked at Mika "You're homesick, aren't you?"

"It's been months since I saw them! Months since I saw my family... I miss them," said the crying Avatar "I'd do anything to be back on Kyoshi Island and with my family right now. Am I even doing the right thing? What if my father doesn't want to be found?! What if he never came back because he doesn't love my mother anymore?! Or Mei-Lien? Or me? He's never even met Yi!" Mika screwed her fists into the side of her head "My dad may even be dead... For some reason, my daddy never came home!"

Jiro got up and walked over to her. He sat next to her and gave her a hug. Mika cried into his shoulder for a good 29 minutes.

Mika curled up beside her Animal Guide in a red sleeping bag with a black fur interior. Jiro was asleep in his sleeping bag that he picked up while at his family home on the other side of the campfire. Dao-ming was just sprawled on the ground with a blanket thrown over her.

* * *

><p>When they woke-up the next morning...<p>

...they were all groggy and cranky from sleeping on a cave floor. Jiro and Dao-ming stuffed the sleeping bags into a saddle bag and Mika went to open the cave entrance. The young Avatar did the same thing she did to close the cave only in reverse to open the cave entrance. As the cave mouth opened water began pouring in. The water began flooding in and the occupants in the cave fell over. Mika stopped earthbending in open and locked herself to the ground with earthbending. The young Avatar began crawling to the slightly open entrance.

"Mika! Do something!" Jiro shouted.

Mika took her kasuri-fundo and through one end to the wall and earthbended it in. The young Avatar pulled herself up using the kasuri-fundo chain and managed to get her hand against the wall and sealed the entrance again. When the water was blocked again, Team Avatar gasped as they got back up. Jiro and Dao-ming were covered in mud. Mika was hanging from the roof of the cave, she gave the kasuri-fundo a tug and earthbended to release the end from the roof. Mika fell and splatted into the mud below. She wound up her kasuri-fundo and attached it to a single hook on the side of her belt instead of wrapping it around her waist.

"Ew! Gross!" Dao-ming complained "I have mud in places I didn't even know I had places!"

"On the upside it's mud so I can earthbend it," said Mika.

Team Avatar stood from each other. Mika spread her fingers out in front of her friends and brought her fingers together. The mud that covered them pulled off and Mika released it so it dropped to the muddy ground. The young Avatar brought her arms to her center and the mud on her jumped off. Amissa walked over to the group and splashed her paw in the ankle high mud.

"What happened? Where'd that water come from?" Dao-ming asked.

"The rain from the storm must have flooded part of the forest," said Mika.

"Then our only way out is through the cave," said Jiro, pointing to the tunnel in the back of the cave.

They looked at the back of the cave and gulped. It was dark and damp smelling and gave Team Avatar chills. Mika earthbended the mud off of Amissa and mounted her Animal Guide along with Dao-ming. Jiro walked beside them with fire in hand.

* * *

><p>As they worked their way through the cave, the wind seemed to pick up. It blew through them and making their bones rattle. They followed the lazy wind through the cave, hopefully it would lead to an exit. Dao-ming had the blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she sat behind Mika. They came to a dead end with light coming down on them. Team Avatar looked up and saw a crack in the earth that led down to the underground tunnels and caves.<p>

"Hey, Mika? You think you could widen that up so we can climb out?" Jiro asked, pointing upwards.

"I don't think so," said Mika "I might cause it to collapse in on itself and crush us,"

"I'm sure you can do it," said Dao-ming "Just give it a rumble,"

Mika bit her lip and punched the wall. A crack spread from under her fist and went up the wall. The small entrance rumbled and began getting wider. But, as it got wider, the edges began crumbling.

"Just a bit more, Mika. You've almost got it," said Jiro.

Mika put her other hand on the wall and pulled the hands along the rock wall, pulling the opening more and more. The edges of the opening crumbled even more. A chunk of rock fell and nearly hit Jiro.

"I think you've got it!" Dao-ming exclaimed over the sound of moving rock.

Mika took her hands away from the wall but the opening kept crumbling. The entire cave was rumbling and larger rocks were falling by the minute.

"Cave in!" Jiro exclaimed and jumped onto the back of Amissa.

Team Avatar ran through the caves as the tunnels began to cave in behind them. Mika didn't pay attention to where they were going and only hoped they wouldn't hit a dead end.

* * *

><p>A bright light was in front of them and Mika preyed to the Spirits that it was a way out. Team Avatar looked down as the rocks fell around them. Amissa stumbled into the light and collapsed onto her side. The 3 people riding her were thrown off and they landed with a thud. Dao-ming landed in a bush with her feet in the air. Jiro landed in a tree then fell through the leaves and hit the ground. Mika skidded forward and rolled down the small slope in the path. Everyone sat up, got to their feet and walked back to the eel hound.<p>

Amissa stood up and walked a few steps before whimpering. Mika took her Animal Guide's front right paw and felt the bone. Amissa whimpered loudly when there was a sickening crack.

"Amissa!" Mika exclaimed, stroking her Animal Guide's head in comfort "She's broken her ankle,"

Jiro held 2 sticks by the eel hound's broken ankle and Dao-ming tied some rope around them as a splint. All 3 of them helped Amissa to stand up again. Mika walked beside her Animal Guide and helped support her because she couldn't use her leg.

"Little help here!" the young Avatar exclaimed.

Jiro got behind her and helped her support the eel hound. They slowly made their way along the only path there was.

* * *

><p>The path led to some ruins of an old city. Jiro and Mika let Amissa down to rest at the edge of the forest. The ruins were in a valley with mountains on either side. On the sides where there weren't mountains were thick forests.<p>

"Where are we?" Dao-ming asked, re-doing the splint around Amissa's ankle.

Jiro looked at the map then looked at the ruins.

"I think we're at the ruins of the Sun Warrior civilization," said Jiro "Which means we're here," and he pointed to the very edge of the continent.

"The Sun Warriors were the first people to learn firebending from the dragons, right?" said Mika "Maybe if we check out their ruins we can find a clue at how they did it without anger,"

"What, like a scroll or something?" Dao-ming asked.

"I dunno. Let's take a look and see what happens," said Jiro, folding up the map.

"What about Amissa?" Mika asked, stroking her eel hound's head.

"She'll be fine," said Jiro "C'mon,"

* * *

><p>Team Avatar (without the animal member) walked through the ruins. The stone buildings were several layers stacked on each other. They resembled the towers at the Fire Monestry and Fire Temples. Vines grew around the structure and walls as nature took over the once great civilization.<p>

Mika got on her knees and put her hand on the ground. The entire city was made of solid stone and the young Avatar was wondering just how deep did the stone go? How secure was a civilization that was thousands of years old?

As the earthbender felt the stone, Dao-ming caught her feet on what she thought was a vine but was actually a trip wire (made out of a vine). Mika felt the cogs turn and a block of stone drop from the path.

"Dao-ming!" Mika exclaimed.

In a solid earthbending movement, the stone rose again and Dao-ming face-planted.

"What was that?!" Jiro exclaimed.

"It was a trap," said Mika "Dao-ming would have been impaled had I not been using seismic sense,"

"Maybe we should leave," said Dao-ming "You can't exactly use seismic sense 24/7,"

"Actually, I can," said Mika, hooking her fingers in the back of her sneakers and pulling them off.

Mika, now barefoot, stomped the ground and cracks grew from under her foot. The vibrations from the few things moving went through the earth and Mika sensed them. But vibrations become weaker as they travel (limiting the use of seismic sense) so not _every _moving thing was giving off vibration's that Mika could sense.

"There are no traps for the next 200 yards, then there's a blow dart trap tripped by a stepping on a panel," said the young Avatar.

"Maybe we should leave?" Jiro said "What if there's a trap you don't see coming? Like one made out of wood? You told me you can only seismic sense things that are in motion!"

"Look, this is a lot more important than you think!" Mika said "I'm the freaking Avatar! I _need _to learn firebending! I can't even create fire myself! This is the first freaking time I've had a chance to learn _something _about firebending without anger! Turn back if you want but I'm going forward!" and she stomped forward, walking past her friends._  
><em>

"We'll, uh, head back to Amissa," said Jiro "We'll come find you, traps or not, in about 2 hours!"

Mika just flung her arm up as a wave to acknowledge him and kept walking. Jiro and Dao-ming looked at each other before turning around and heading back. In their time of knowing Mika, neither had fully realized just how important it was for her to learn firebending.

* * *

><p>Mika easily stepped over the panel that would trigger blow darts and continued to easily dodge the traps. The young Avatar continued on the path she was on and headed up some stairs. Did she overreact when she was with her friends? Mika was starting to feel bad for yelling at them just because they didn't want to take the risk of getting killed. When the guilty feeling Avatar got to the top of the stairs she saw a huge mural carved into the wall of 2 dragons firebending around a man. Somehow, the walk there and looking at the mural seemed... familiar. Like she had done it before.<p>

The sense of familiarity continued as she stared at the dragons. But, something was strangely familiar to the figure that the dragons were firebending around. The person had spiky hair and a sort of toga shirt. Mika stared at the figure and found it so strange that she started walking towards it. The young Avatar began squeezing her eyes shut before opening them wide, looking up at the mural. She seriously felt like she had been there before. Mika felt a harsh migraine as she stumbled back, her hands on the side of her head, and she looked up at the mural. Everything was blurry like an old film and she blinked again.

Mika caught the tip of her toe in her jeans leg and tripped backwards. The young Avatar helped as she was about to fall down the stairs. Mika grabbed the edge of the steps and earthbended them to sand so as she fell she created sand around her as to not break her neck. The young Avatar didn't quite sandbend the slope around her enough and hit her head on the edge of the area of the steps she was sandbending. Mika became delirious after she hit her head and just collapsed down the last few steps.

The young Avatar looked up at the sky as the Sun got in her eyes. A figure appeared above her but she couldn't see what or who it was.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This chapter was running a little long so I decided to make it a 2-parter. But I think I left it off on a good, suspenseful, note.**

**On the subject of reviews, if you're not a big reviewer please review! Even if you write one word, I love reviews. And if you don't want to go into a monologue, doesn't matter because I love long reviews! I'll continue if someone reviews or not but an occasional review just gives me a nudge that tells me my story is worth writing.**


	10. Chapter 10: Life and Fire, Part 2

Name Trivia:

_'Anala' means fire, wind and 3._

_'Amara' means unfading and eternal (named after the Eternal Flame)._

* * *

><p><strong>Avatar: The Legend of Mika<strong>

* * *

><p>Earth. Fire. Air. Water...<p>

My ancestor, Fire Lord Zuko, helped Avatar Aang defeat his evil father, Fire Lord Ozai.

My ancestor, General Iroh, helped Avatar Korra defeat the evil of the Equalists.

Like all life, Avatar Korra had to inevitably leave this Earth.

And, like all life, it was inevitable that new life would be born into this Earth.

And so, the Avatar was born again...

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 10:<span>

Life and Fire

Part 2

* * *

><p>The stars in the night sky looked down on Earth. An unconscious Mika lay on a large deck chair with blankets and pillows spread over it. There were several podiums that supported the stone roof like a stone gazebo. The gazebo was back-to-back with the main temple in the ruins. On the other side of the gazebo, where the walls met, was a huge fire burning. Someone put a wet cloth on Mika's forehead to aid with the assumed headache she got from hitting her head. Mika suddenly sat up, her eyes bugging. She saw several flashes...<p>

_An Air Nomad cowering with nerves, standing by an older looking boy wearing Fire Nation clothes with a flame in hand. A man in tribal clothing had a flame in hand. The Air Nomad stopped fidgeting and reached out. The man put the flame in the Air Nomad's hands and the Air Nomad smiled at the flame with ease. _

_The Air Nomad and the older firebender were walking through the forest. The Air Nomad looked at the little flame in his hand as he began to climb some rocks. The older firebender stopped moving and waited for the firebending Air Nomad and said something but their was no sound._

_Everything sped up. The Air Nomad and firebender climbed a tall flight of stairs. Stood back-to-back. Fought over the firebender's flame. Then they were surrounded by-_

Mika leaned forward, holding her knees to her, as she panted. The someone who put the cloth on her forehead put their hand on Mika's shoulder. The young Avatar was a bit jumpy and jerked her head to look at them.

A woman with red face make-up around her eyes, red tube top with a gold rim around her neck, gold loop earrings and a red skirt that went to her feet was standing beside her. The woman's black hair was in a high ponytail with 2 strands of hair on either side of her head.

"Wh-Who are you?" Mika stuttered.

"My name is Anala," the woman said "It is an honor to meet you, Avatar Mika," slightly bowing her head.

"It's nice to meet you, Anala," said Mika "What happened? Where am I?"

"You hit your head when you fell down the stairs," said Anala "You've been unconscious for a few hours,"

"My friends!" Mika exclaimed "They're-"

"We found your friends. Them and your Animal Guide are with the others," said Anala "After you have something to eat, you can join them," Mika nodded her agreement, Anala turned her head and called out, "Amara?"

A girl in a red sundress with a gold rim around her shoulders and a red headband. She was barefoot with gold anklets and gold wristbands.

"Avatar Mika, this is my daughter. Amara, this is Avatar Mika," said Anala, looking between the 2 girls.

Amara had a tray with a bowl of rice and a streaming pot of tea with a cup in her hands. She was around 10 to 12-years-old. Amara walked over and placed the tray on the bottom of the bed/deck chair piece of furniture Mika was on and Mika cowered a little. Amara sat next to her mother.

"It is good to see you have recovered," said Amara, she looked down and seemed to be nervous.

"Amara? You can calm down," said Anala "Don't be so... uh... nervous,"

The tension in Amara's shoulders loosened and she dropped her shoulders, sighing in relief.

"My dad is our leader," said Amara "He wants to see you," Amara took the teapot and poured a cup "When you're up for it,"

"The thing about us earthbenders," said Mika, taking the cup Amara was offering her "We've got thick skulls, heh heh," and the young Avatar nervously took a sip of her tea.

Mika didn't think she was hungry. It hadn't occurred to her. But, as soon as she ate a small clump of rice with the chopsticks, Mika's stomach was awakened and it growled for more. As soon as it did that, Mika ate the bowl of rice quickly. Mika wasn't a huge fan of rice but she didn't ate it either but never in the world had she ever eaten rice and thought it tasted like heaven.

Amara looked at the young Avatar and just blinked. She had only known other Sun Warriors but she was pretty sure outsiders weren't suppose to eat that fast. All in all, Amara thought it was amusing.

"Want some more?" she offered.

"Yes," Mika gasped from eating so fast "Yes, please,"

* * *

><p>Amara walked down the spiral stairs down from the gazebo and saw the fire of the other Sun Warriors. Amara walked to the big pot of rice over the fire.<p>

"Is Mika up?" Jiro asked from where he and Dao-ming sat "Can we see her? Amara?"

Amara took the hand paddle and put 2 paddle worths of rice in the bowl.

"She's up but Avatar Mika is definitely hungry," said Amara, putting the rice bowl on the tray and using firebending to reheat the tea.

Amara walked away again, leaving Jiro and Dao-ming. The Sun Warriors were all around the fire, eating bowls of rice and drinking cups of tea. There were some small piles of stone bricks from past structures some where sitting on.

Dao-ming was sat cross-legged on the top of what was once a wall while Jiro sat on the ground, leaning his back against the wall. Dao-ming was happily eating a second rice bowl while Jiro merely poked at his first bowl. Jiro looked into the fire and absentmindedly took a sip of tea. His eyes bulged and he spat the tea out.

"This tea is nothing but hot tea juice!" he groaned, putting the cup down and putting a clump of rice in his mouth.

"I thought that's what all tea was?" Dao-ming said while chomping down some rice.

Jiro just sighed and continued to eat. The Fire Prince looked around at the Sun Warriors around them. There were families both young and old and friends talking to each other. How could the entire Sun Warrior civilization still be alive after so long a time? How was this possible? And how had they remained hidden?

The chief, Ming-hoa, was sat on a rug with a tarp overhead. Jiro looked over at him. Ming-hoa's wife and daughter were the ones caring for Mika. It had been pretty surprising to find Sun Warriors with Amissa when they got back to the where they left the eel hound.

Amara came walking back over and got another bowl of rice.

"When was the last time Avatar Mika ate?" Amara asked Jiro and Dao-ming as she walked past.

"Last night," said Jiro "I guess it's been a day,"

Amara walked away again with the extra food. Jiro looked over at Ming-hoa again. The chief had said there was something they needed to do but he wouldn't say until Mika was conscious and able.

* * *

><p>Amissa was in a tent with some elderly Sun Warriors. The eel hound's broken ankle was propped up on several cushions. The old women were taking care of the Animal Guide. Every time the break in Amissa's ankle was jolted, the eel hound would whimper.<p>

One of the old women put a bowl of ground meat in front of the Animal Guide. Amissa rose her head and sniffed the meat before taking a bite. The eel hound looked at the entrance of the tent and whimpered. Amissa wanted to be with her master, especially when she knew her master was awake. How did the eel hound know her master was conscious? It was because of the link between the Animal Guide and the Avatar.

"Easy, Amissa," said the elderly Sun Warrior, knowing her name because Dao-ming told her "You can see the Avatar when she wakes up,"

Amissa tried to stand up but the Sun Warriors tried to keep her down. The eel hound howled for her master and whimpered in pain when she put weight on her broken ankle. The elderly women tried to keep her down. Amissa howled again and walked out of the tent against the will of the Sun Warriors. Amissa howled again and kept on howling.

* * *

><p>Since learning to use seismic sense, Mika's ears had become more sensitive and she heard the at first quiet howl of her Animal Guide. Mika sat on the deck chairbed thing on her knees and looked down below. Amissa howled again and Mika did an eel hound howl to call to her. Mika heard Amissa's pain and got up. The young Avatar swayed where she stood for a moment, a wave of vertigo washing over her.

"Avatar Mika! You must rest," Anala tried to insist.

Mika refused and walked away from her and Amara.

"Avatar Mika, you can see your Animal Guide when you've recovered," said Amara "but you-"

Mika, quite literally, swan dived into the ground. Anala and Amara stared at where she was as rocks started to shift from the ground.

* * *

><p>Mika tunelled through the rock to the bottom and burst out. The rest of the Sun Warriors turned from the fire and saw the young Avatar standing up from the rubble from the exit of the tunnel. Amissa howled and limped towards her master. Mika ran over to her Animal Guide and collapsed to her knees. Amissa collapsed onto the ground in front of her master. Mika, panting, patted Amissa's head.<p>

"Hey, girl," said Mika, smiling "We both wanted to see if the other was okay,"

Amissa whimpered an agreement. Mika saw how swollen Amissa's ankle had become from putting weight on it.

"Amissa. For now, until your ankle is healed, you are to rest and not put a pound of weight on your broken ankle. Understood?" Mika asked and Amissa grumbled "I love you so much," and Mika hugged her Animal Guide.

* * *

><p>The next morning...<p>

...had a gentle breeze blowing through the ruins of the Sun Warrior civilization. Team Avatar were in a stone gazebo with one solid wall on one side. The solid wall had a large fire place with a huge flame flickering in it.

Ming-hoa stood before the flame.

"This is the Eternal Flame," said the chief "The dragons gifted us with it. We have been keeping it going for thousands of years,"

Team Avatar looked at each other with bewilderment in their eyes. Mika looked at Amara, who had a humble look on her face, as she stared at the great fire. Ming-hoa firebended some of the flame and turned to Team Avatar.

"You will carry the flame to the top of the mountain," as he spoke he handed some of the fire to each firebender "That is where you will learn the Secret of Firebending,"

Jiro looked up at the chief with surprise.

"The Secret of Firebending? Legend has it my ancestor, Fire Lord Zuko, and Avatar Aang learned the Secret of Firebending," said Jiro, looking down again in thought "Could they have come here?"

"Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang were among the few who were worthy to learn of the Secret of Firebending. But just because you, Fire Prince Jiro, are a direct descendent of one of their former pupils and you, Avatar Mika, are the reincarnation of one of their former pupils, it doesn't confirm they will like you," said Ming-hoa.

Mika and Jiro looked at each other then all of Team Avatar looked at the mountain.

"Uhh, how do we get to the mountain? We don't know the way," said Dao-ming.

"The path is clearly marked all the way through the forest, meadow and all the way up the mountain," said Ming-hoa and they all looked at the mountain.

* * *

><p>As they walked along the path and climbed up the rocks in the meadow, Mika gained the same sense of familiarity. Especially when Jiro looked down at her when he got to the top of the rocks and she was still climbing. Mika fed the flame a bit more and locked herself to the rock using earthbending. The chain of her kasuri-fundo rattled where it was hooked to her belt like a lasso.<p>

Team Avatar continued along the path to the mountain. As they got closer they noticed the tip of the mountain was actually 2 points with a bridge between them. Mika looked at the flame in her hand and it grew bigger. To think this flame was thousands of years old.

* * *

><p>Team Avatar walked up the last of the path and found themselves between the mountain peeks. The Sun Warriors were kneeling around the circular stone-floored area with a steep set of stairs in the middle and the bridge between the 2 mountain peeks went into 2 caves. Ming-hoa walked up to them with Anala behind him to his right and Amara behind him to his left.<p>

"How'd all of you get here so fast?" Jiro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Unimportant," said Ming-hoa "You will take your fire up there," he turned and pointed up the stairs "There, the Firebending Masters will judge you and if they find you worthy they will teach you. If not, they will destroy you on the spot,"

"Well, they just seems unfair," said Dao-ming but everyone looked at her as if she was insane.

Ming-hoa took some of Team Avatar's fire and spread it out to the other Sun Warriors. Team Avatar walked up the steps as the Sun Warriors who didn't have a ring of fire beat down on drums. A horn was blown and someone spoke through a horn.

"Those who wish the meet the Firebending Masters will now present their fire," the Sun Warrior said through the horn.

The 3 firebenders looked at each other before Jiro showed his fire to the left tunnel and Mika and Dao-ming showed their fire to the right tunnel. There was a rumbling through the entire mountain and Team Avatar gulped.

Mika, Dao-ming and Jiro jumped back as a blue and a red creature came flying from the tunnels. Team Avatar got off their butts and looked at what the creatures that were flying around them was... dragons.

"These are the Firebending Masters," said Mika "Ran and Shaw... the last dragons,"

Ran and Shaw flew around the bridge and staircase.

"What are we meant to do?" Jiro asked.

Mika got the sense of familiarity again and she thought it over. She looked at how Ran and Shaw were flying.

"I think we're meant to mirror them. Look at how they're flying, it could be a firebending form," said Mika.

"But there are 3 of us and 2 dragons. What are we meant to do?" Dao-ming asked.

* * *

><p>Amara looked up at Team Avatar. They seemed to be trying to figure something out. Amara sat up from where they were kneeling.<p>

"Amara, we can't intervene," Ming-hoa said to his daughter.

"They now what to do but the 3 of them don't know how to do it with 3 of them," said Amara "But they can do it with 4," and she ran forward.

"Amara!" Ming-hoa exclaimed.

And Amara ran up the stairs.

* * *

><p>"What are we gonna do?! We don't even know if copying their movements is what they want!" Dao-ming exclaimed.<p>

"How long will it take for Ran and Shaw to decide to destroy us?" Jiro asked.

"I don't know how to explain it but I know we're meant to follow their movements," said Mika "If it's true that Avatar Aang was here then maybe it's his spirit that's telling me what we need to do,"

"But we'll need another person!" Dao-ming exclaimed.

"You've got your 4th person," said Amara, climbing onto the top of the bridge with them "You're meant to do a firebending form called-"

"The Dancing Dragons," said Mika "If I follow my instincts maybe Avatar Aang's spirit can guide me,"

"Dao-ming, you copy Mika. Jiro, you copy me," said Amara.

The 4 took their positions and followed the Great Dragons as they flew up then went to the side. They followed Ran and Shaw until they came to the end of the form. When they flipped and brought their fists together as they came to an end. The 4 of them panted slightly as they looked to the dragons. Ran and Shaw flapped their wings as they looked at the 4 firebenders. The dragons took hold of the staircase and roared. Fire shot out at the 4 firebenders...

...and the fire swirled around them like a tornado, showing different colours, and the 4 firebenders looked at the fire with wonderment. The fire was unlike anything they had ever seen.

The anger Dao-ming's parents were afraid of Dao-ming using, disappeared as Dao-ming looked into the amazing flames. Tears began to slip down Dao-ming's cheeks as she thought of her sister and how, if only, she had seen this she would be alive.

Jiro looked into the swirling flames and all frustration in him left him and he understood just what fire was. The Fire Prince completely forgot how anger had generated his fire.

Mika couldn't believe what she was seeing. This fire was nothing like she had seen before. There was no anger or hate in the colourful flames. Finally, everything Sifu Sanzo had said to her about how to self-generate fire finally made sense to her.

Amara couldn't believe the secret her people had protected for thousands of years. Her fire had never been fueled by anger or anything like that but this... this was true firebending! And Amara saw something of her own future in the flames...

* * *

><p>The 4 firebenders walked down the last of the steps and the chief walked up to them with Anala. Anala hugged Amara tightly, recovering from the shock her daughter had given her by running up the stairs.<p>

"The last dragons, Ran and Shaw, have been here for over 150 years. They are said to be immortal," said Ming-hoa "You're fire should now be that of a dragons, pure and beautiful..."

"It's life," said Mika.

"Yes," said the chief.

Mika looked at her hands and pushed her hand out, turning it to the left slightly, with her other arm bent against her side and her fingers curled into her palm and her lower legs crossed.

A burst of fire shot from her hand and she changed forms, kicking her foot out and fire bursting into the air.

Mika smiled as she panted from creating fire. Jiro and Dao-ming went up to her and the 3 firebenders smiled together as friends do.

Amara looked at them from where she stood with her parents. She created a flame in her hand and looked into the flame.

"Amara... I need to tell you something," said Ming-hoa.

* * *

><p>A few weeks later, after Amissa's ankle had healed, Team Avatar were preparing to leave...<p>

...and this time, that were taking someone with them. Amara had had a vision of a future where she had fought alongside Team Avatar. Ming-hoa had revealed to his daughter that, when she was born, he had had a vision in the Eternal Flame where she would fight alongside the Avatar.

"Here," said Dao-ming "Not that your Sun Warrior clothes aren't flamin' but you won't fit with a crowd wearing that," and she handed Amara some clothes.

Amara washed off her red-and-gold face paint. Dao-ming did 2 thin plaits on the left side of her head and Amara changed clothes. She put on a simple red t-shirt and black jeans, although the rest of Team Avatar said they'd get her some better clothes later on.

Amara hugged her parents.

"Goodbye, Sun Princess," said a Sun Warrior.

"Goodbye, Sun Princess!" the rest of the Sun Warriors exclaimed.

"Goodbye, everyone!" Amara called back.

* * *

><p>As the 4 human members of Team Avatar rode off on Amissa, Jiro had only one question for the new member.<p>

"Did the Sun Warriors just call you a princess?" he asked.

"Uh huh," said Amara "As daughter of the chief, I have the title of Sun Princess,"


	11. Chapter 11: Sickness

Woodman and Auryon Trivia:

_'Woodman' is an English name and 'Auryon' is an American name, both mean hunter._

_Woodman is a descendent of June but is unaware his several times great-grandmother knew a previous Avatar._

_Woodman's mother was a bounty hunter but she and his father died under unknown circumstances when Woodman was young. He was then raised by his grandmother._

_Auryon's mother died in childbirth and her father made his money by stripping stolen satomobiles for parts. Auryon and her father were neighbours of Woodman and his grandmother so when Auryon's father was sent to prison when Auryon was 14-years-old, Woodman's grandmother volunteered to take her in as a foster child._

_Woodman and Auryon began dating when they were 16 after they both left home. They both started working as bounty hunters shortly after (and after Woodman got fired for getting in a fight)._

_Neither Woodman nor Auryon know if Sweets is a boy or girl, with all the hair on a shirshu it's hard to tell and neither one of them are willing to check._

* * *

><p><strong>Avatar: The Legend of Mika<strong>

* * *

><p>Earth. Fire. Air. Water...<p>

My ancestor, Fire Lord Zuko, helped Avatar Aang defeat his evil father, Fire Lord Ozai.

My ancestor, General Iroh, helped Avatar Korra defeat the evil of the Equalists.

Like all life, Avatar Korra had to inevitably leave this Earth.

And, like all life, it was inevitable that new life would be born into this Earth.

And so, the Avatar was born again...

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 11:<span>

Sickness

Team Avatar were just collapsed around their campsite, sleeping heavily. Mika was just curled up by Amissa, Dao-ming was sprawled out with a blanket thrown over her (this happened often), Jiro was laying face down in his sleeping bag and Amara wasn't asleep. The Sun Princess was looking around at the world around her. There was a yawn and Jiro leaned up as if he was doing a press-up and rubbed his eye with his fist.

"Morning, Amara," he said, slumping back down in his sleeping bag and rolled onto his back with his arms crossed behind his head.

"Good morning, Jiro," Amara said "What do you and the others normally do as a morning routine?"

"We wake each other up, pack up camp, double check our route then we go on our way," said the Fire Prince, sitting up and running his fingers through his bedhead "Mind waking up Mika while I wake-up Dao-ming? Warning, Mika sometimes earthbends when she's startled," and he rolled over and crawled out of his sleeping bag.

Amara nodded and got up to walk over to the sleeping Avatar. Jiro got up and shook Dao-ming awake. Amara put her hand on Mika's shoulder and shook her awake. Mika cracked open her green eyes but they were bloodshot.

"Ava-" Amara stopped herself "Mika? It's time to wake-up,"

Mika groaned and sat up, her hair was even knottier than usual and in her face. The young Avatar brushed some of her hair back and her pale skin was paler than usual. She had dark rings around her eyes and she looked tired.

"Whoa, Mika," said Jiro, getting down on one knee and looked over Amara's shoulder at the young Avatar "You look-"

Before he could finish, Mika sneezed and fire shot out. Mika sniffed and wiped her nose with her arm.

"I feel as sick as an eel hound," she said, her nose obviously stuffed and Amissa rose her head to look at her master "It's just a figure of speech, Am-Am-Ami-isssss- _AAHCHOO!" _and she sneezed fire again.

"What's up with the fire-sneezing? I haven't done that since I was little," said Dao-ming, coming to sit by them.

"It's the Phoenix Flu," said Amara, putting the back of her fingers to Mika's burning forehead "Yep, definitely Phoenix Flu. To anyone else it would be like any other flu but, for firebenders, it's different,"

They all leaned back when Mika sneezed again.

"You should get some rest, curl up in a sleeping bag and try to get some sleep," Amara instructed "There's a herb called Phoenix Root, maybe we can find some and I'll brew it into the tea Mika needs to drink,"

"Hold on._ I've _had Phoenix Flu and I never drank some Phoenix Root, my parents just left it to blow over," said Dao-ming.

"Yes, but I don't think we have the time to spare for Mika to get naturally better," said Amara "Where's the next town? Maybe we can get Phoenix Root there,"

Jiro got up and looked inside a saddle bag and pulled out the map. He went back over to the girls and spread the map out in front of them. Dao-ming took her blanket and put it over Mika, who sniffed and held the blanket around her.

"Okay, we're... where are we?" Jiro asked and Mika pointed to a shaded area "Thank you, Miss Sneeze-a-lot. We're there so the closest town forward is... Burrowston,"

"Mika can't make that journey," said Dao-ming "We'll stay here while you and Amara try and find a cure,"

"A'right," said Jiro, looking at Dao-ming before looking at Amara "Let's go,"

Jiro and Amara both ate a quick bite and left on Amissa, leaving Mika and Dao-ming at camp.

Mika lay down in a sleeping bag with a pillow beneath her head. Dao-ming had started a fire and was stirring some soup she had put together from some spare food scraps they had. Mika shivered as she sniffed, feeling like her head was about to explode and her throat was dry. She miserably took her flask and sucked down some water. Dao-ming put a wet cloth on her forehead and got about putting up a tent over the sick Avatar.

* * *

><p>Jiro and Amara were in a marketplace, looking for a herbalist's stall. Amara had picked up a few second-hand clothes for herself as they went. They stood in the marketplace, just looking around for a herbalist's stall while Amara was looking around at how different the outside world was to the Sun Warriors.<p>

"Over there," said Jiro, pointing at a stall with an elderly woman manning it "C'mon," and he grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

They rushed over to the market stall and the old woman looked at them both. Amara began looking over the herbs in the trays on display.

"Hello, kiddies. How can I help you?" the elderly woman asked.

"Do you have any Phoenix Root?" Amara asked before Jiro could get a syllable out "Our friend has Phoenix Flu and we don't have the time for her to get better to spare, we need a cure,"

"Phoenix Flu? Your friend fire-sneezing?" Jiro and Amara nodded "You definitely need Phoenix Root but I'm all out. There's only one person who knows where the Phoenix Root grows in this area but they disappear for months and you never know when they're coming back," said the elderly woman.

"Who's 'they'?" Amara asked.

"His name is Ping," said the elderly woman "But I don't know where he is now. Ping's somewhere in the mountains,"

"Do you have an idea on how to find Ping?" Jiro asked.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," and the elderly woman rubbed her fingers together.

"Ugh," Jiro sighed and took out a few copper pieces.

"This all you got?" the elderly woman asked "It'll have to do I suppose. What you do is you get something that has Ping's sent on it then you go to the Red Falls Tavern. There, you ask for Woodman and Auryon. Woodman and Auryon are the best bounty hunters in town, they even have a shirshu which will sniff out Ping's location. Ping doesn't have a price on his head so you'll have to come up with a way to pay for Woodman and Auryon's services on your own," said the elderly woman "Ping's somewhere in the mountains so it shouldn't cost a whole lot so don't offer too much. You got all that?"

"Every word," said Jiro "Sent sample, Red Falls Tavern, bounty hunters, Woodman and Auryon, cheap price,"

"Basically,"

"Where can we get a sample of Ping's sent?" Amara asked.

"You go to the town lost-and-found and you ask about a brown scarf belonging to Ping, he left it last time he was here, and you pay the lost-and-found workers for it. It's going back to Ping after you find him anyway so it doesn't really matter," said the elderly woman.

* * *

><p>After following the elderly woman's directions, Jiro and Amara came to the Red Falls Tavern. The Red Falls Tavern looked nice from the outside but the roaring noise from the inside told a different story. Jiro gave the bouncer at the front door a gold coin and he let them in.<p>

Inside the seedy Tavern, people were standing around a single table and cheering while throwing coins at 2 guys armwrestling. One of them was a large, muscular, man with a braid and an axe strapped to his back. The other guy... He was a scrawny guy, about 18, with a lean frame. A girl was standing behind the scrawny guy and seemed to be cheering him on. The scrawny guy pushed on and beat the freakishly muscular man in the armwrestling contest. Him and the girl behind him collected up all the coins that were thrown at them.

The girl had light brown hair in a topknot, blue eyes (though untraditional for a Fire Nation citizen) and fare skin. The scrawny guy with the lean frame had messy jet-black hair and dark brown eyes. The girl had a red t-shirt with 'W&A Bounty Hunting' written in black diagonally on it, black leather waistcoat, black skinny-jeans and red ankle boots. The scrawny guy had the same red t-shirt with 'W&A Bounty Hunting' written in black diagonally, black leather jacket, black jeans and dark red converse sneakers.

Jiro and Amara walked up to them both, Amara feeling anxious being in such a place.

"Excuse me?" Jiro said to the scrawny guy as he scooped up the coins and put them in a pouch the girl had.

"You talking to me?" the scrawny guy asked.

"Yeah. Me and my friend here are looking for Woodman and Auryon," the Fire Prince asked "And your t-shirts say you at least know them,"

"Sure do. I'm Woodman and this is my girlfriend, Auryon," he said, nodding to the girl with him "What can we do you for?"

"We need your help finding a guy called Ping," said Amara.

"Does he have a bounty on his head?" Auryon asked "We don't work for free,"

"Well, uh, we kinda, well, um," Amara stammered.

Woodman and Auryon looked at each other before they looked back at the Fire Prince and Sun Princess. Jiro sighed and put a few coins on the table.

"Our friend is sick and we were told Ping is the only person who has the herb needed for the cure," said Jiro.

Woodman took the coins and bit them in the side of his mouth to confirm their value.

"A'right," he passed the coins to Auryon "You've got out services. Got a sent sample of what this Ping guy smells like?"

Amara pulled the scarf and held it out to them. Woodman grabbed it and handed it to Auryon. Auryon sniffed it briefly.

"This is perfect for Sweets," said Auryon.

"Who's Sweets?" Jiro asked.

* * *

><p>When they walked outside they found Amissa growling with a shirshu. The shirshu turned out to be Sweets (short for Sweetheart) and the only thing that could track a smell for over a continent. Woodman put his fingers to his mouth and whistled. Sweets stopped growling at Amissa and walked over to its masters.<p>

Auryon held out the scarf and the shirshu smelled it. Sweets walked in a circle before crouching and growling, its nose twitching.

"Its got the sent," said Woodman and he and Auryon ran up and jumped onto Sweets' back "You better have some kinda transport yourselves," he added, taking Sweets' rains.

"Who do you think owns the eel hound?" Jiro asked, pointing at Amissa who Amara had already mounted.

Sweets sniffed the air, following a drifting swell of wild herbs and dirt, as it began to walk forward. Slowly at first before the shirshu broke out into a high-speed sprint with Amissa in tow.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back at the camp...<p>

...Mika had stopped fire-sneezing but was feeling sicker than an eel hound. Dao-ming gave the ailing Avatar another bowl of soup. Mika, groaning, sat up and began spooning the soup into her mouth. The soup wasn't particularly good but it wasn't half bad either.

"How are you feeling?" Dao-ming asked.

"Like a pile of Unagi guts!" Mika snapped at her, tired of this question.

"Uh... what's a Unagi?" Dao-ming asked, raising her hands up in difference.

Mika groaned even more and lay back down in her sleeping bag, not bothering to answer her friend.

* * *

><p>Woodman and Auryon were the best bounty hunters you could ever meet. Even without Sweets they both had skills that would get the job done. In their 2 years of business, they had collected a lot of bounties. Some bounties even out from under the nose of another bounty hunter. One of these bounty hunters was called Dong. But, Dong was nicknamed Dong the Dimwitted and for good reason. Dong couldn't tell the difference between a fugitive and a harmless old lady.<p>

As Woodman, Auryon, Jiro, Amara, Sweets and Amissa were heading out of the forest and into the mountains, Dong saw yuan signs.

The dimwitted Dong got on his komodo-rhino, Ding, and went after them. A reason why most of Dong's clients went to W&A Bounty Hunting could possibly be because Dong's company name was Ding-Dong Bounty Hunting (emphasis on _'Ding-Dong'_).

Woodman heard the rumble of a komodo-rhino and he knew someone was following them. Auryon turned around and saw Dong on Ding.

"Oh, dang! It's Dong!" Auryon exclaimed.

Amara turned her head and saw the up and coming bounty hunter.

"Who's Dong?" Jiro shouted to the bounty hunters.

"He's a dimwitted bounty hunter who we've stolen business from," called Woodman.

The spiked ball end of a chigiriki was thrown forward and nearly hit Sweets' back leg.

"Looks like he's still miffed," said Jiro "Amara, take the rains,"

Jiro backflipped over Amara and landed behind her. Amara scooted forward and took Amissa's rains. Jiro turned around so he was facing backwards and could see Dong. Auryon turned around on Sweets' saddle and took out a blowpipe and loaded it with darts.

Auryon put her mouth to the blowpipe and blew out some darts. Dong pulled on Ding's rains and the komodo-rhino swerved out of the way. Jiro generated the lightning at the tips of his fingers and released the cold-blooded fire at him. The lightning struck up the ground in front of Ding and the komodo-rhino stopped, much to the annoyance of Dong.

* * *

><p><em>DISCONTINUED<em>


End file.
